James Shirley’s tragic masterpiece, The Cardinal, comes to Southwark Playhouse in 2017, in a new production starring Stephen Boxer and directed by Justin Audibert
“All great men know, the soul of life is fame.”
The state of Navarre is in crisis. An unscrupulous Cardinal has the ear of the King and is hungry for power. The Duchess Rosaura longs to marry the Count D’Alvarez, but the Cardinal wants her for his brutish nephew. To tighten his grip on the Kingdom, the ruthless Cardinal will stop at nothing to secure the marriage. But in the Duchess it seems he has finally met his match…
Hailed as James Shirley’s tragic masterpiece, The Cardinal (1641) was one of the last plays staged in England before Oliver Cromwell’s ban on theatre. With remarkably lucid and fast-paced dialogue, it is the captivating story of a religious monster and his relentless pursuit of power.
Starring Stephen Boxer (King Lear, National Theatre), directed by Justin Audibert (The Jew of Malta, Royal Shakespeare Company) and produced by Troupe (After October, Flowering Cherry and The White Carnation, Finborough Theatre).
THE CARDINAL plays at Southwark Playhouse Wednesday 26 April – Saturday 27 May 2017 www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
