Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare and his first play, Dido, Queen of Carthage is now being revived in the Cottesloe Theatre. This story of Gods such as Venus, Juno and Jupiter and heroic Aenaes meeting Queen Dido had it's press night on 24 March and Entry Pass critics Sita Thomas and Louise Laker went along to check it out - read their reviews below:

Anastasia Hille carries the weight of this epic tragedy, magnificently playing the title role in Dido Queen of Carthage. Although Queen Dido occupies a relatively small part of the hero Aeneas' journey in Virgil's Aeneid, there is no wonder why she features in Christopher Marlowe's adaptation of the epic poem. Dido is a passionate, loveable, fiery tragic heroine whose story does not fail to transcend time and capture audiences' hearts across the ages.

Dido welcomes Aeneas who has been shipwrecked on her land and, provoked by the gods, falls in love with him. He returns her love but leaves her to continue his journey in the founding of the Roman Empire. Dido is left in a frenzied state and ultimately commits suicide.

The set is an open space covered in blue and purple sand and there is a large screen of the same colour and a breadth of yellow curtain that is lifted and lowered using the fly system. At its highest point the yellow curtain is used as a backdrop to the world of the gods, their separation from the world below and their dominant position demonstrating their power over the mortals on earth. Down on the floor the curtain is used to reveal a forest, a cave and the lovers' bed.

Marlowe's text is wonderful, creating vivid images and passionate relationships, and director James Macdonald keeps the action simple focusing the audience on the language. Storytelling becomes a feature, with Aeneas played by Mark Bonnar delivering the story of the siege of Troy around a feast on the floor with dimmed lights and candles. The episode is quite long and at three hours the play could perhaps do with some variety in pace, however the scenes between the gods come as great interludes.

Siobhan Redmond as the goddess Venus is sensual and sparkles in her elegant costumes and the young Theo Stevenson is excellent as Cupid. Their interaction along with Susan Engel as Juno is funny and playful, providing a contrast to the darker aspects of the tragedy.

Macdonald's production stays true to and is a testament to Marlowe's text, and his use of theatrical devices come together in a classic telling of an epic story. What is truly compelling is the journey that Dido makes, from being a dignified hospitable queen to a wretched dishevelled woman doused in petrol and with a match poised in her hand...

Sita Thomas

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Waiting for the play to begin I was seriously worried about my ability to sit through and be entertained by three boring, incomprehensible, irrelevant hours of Elizabethan drama.... yet the lights went down, a big puffy sofa (bearing a nice bare-chested young man) rolled onstage and I settled in to enjoy the show. 

I needn't have worried: Dido, Queen of Carthage is an excellent, fast paced, emotion packed success, breathing life into what could easily be stuffy alienating language. Dido (Anastasia Hille) steals the show with a beautiful performance; she is so vulnerable, so in love, mad, powerful and real. The rest of the cast, the set and music are also superb and compliment each other to create a magically real vision of the city of Carthage: a city of lust, love, despair and flames.

I did feel that at times the production could be slightly more risqué: basically the sex scene is far too conservative! I didn't feel aroused at all and what should be the union of two of the greatest lovers of Classical myth is a sort of clumsy weird bit of stylised movement: take more risks! Entice young people to the theatre! (Sex works!)

But this is a minor criticism and Dido, Queen of Carthage is a production that makes Marlowe accessible and one that I highly recommend. Perhaps read a plot summary first, but it is a fabulous success!

Louise Laker