by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher
seen at Shakespeare's Globe on 31 May 2018
This collaborative play, not included n the First Folio of Shakespeare's collected works, has gained inclusion in modern 'complete' editions, but it is still rarely performed. Barrie Rutter directs Bryan Dick as Arcite, Paul Stocker as Palamon, Ellora Torchia as Emilia, Francesca Mills as the Jailer's daughter, Moyo Akandé as Hippolyta and Jude Akewudike as Theseus in a production that makes a strong case for the play's revival.
The story, used also by Chaucer in his Knight's Tale, concerns the cousins Arcite and Palamon, both tken prisoner by Theseus when he defeats their uncle, and both recognised as valorous men even in captivity. Their intense friendship is broken when both fall in love with Emilia (Hippolyta's sister, Theseus's sister-in-law). In a trice their earnest protestations of eternal loyalty and blissful satisfaction in the joys of amity are forgotten and they are (or want to be) at each other's throats. Theseus releases Arcite to banishment, but he determines to remain close to Emilia despite his peril. The jailer's daughter, in love with Palamon, arranges for his escape but falls into a madness when he ignores her. The two cousins meet again in the forest and decide to fight for Emilia's love; they are interrupted by Theseus and his followers who are out hunting, and the king decrees a formal combat and compels Emilia to accept that the winner will be her husband and the loser will lose his life.