Edward’s Boys would not enjoy the profile they have without the fact that all of their performances have been filmed and are available for purchase. This benefit is not simply appreciated by the parents of the performers. University libraries all over the world order the entire Edward’s Boys archive every week. Let’s be frank, where else can you find a film of Lyly’s Galatea or Ford’s The Lady’s Trial or Middleton’s A Trick to Catch the Old One? This unique archive is the result of extraordinary work by Gavin Birkett. I am sorry to report that Gavin has suffered severe
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At 7pm on Sunday 7th July in the Levi Fox Hall Edward’s Boys will give their first performance of Wit and Science by John Redford prior to touring Oxford, London and Genoa, Italy where they will perform at the invitation of the Société Internationale pour l’étude du Théâtre Médiéval. Redford, composer, organist and choirmaster of St Paul’s Cathedral, seems to have written the play around 1540. It exists in one manuscript in the British Library. However, the first five pages of the notebook are missing and so we do not know precisely how much of the text is lost! Nevertheless,
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Wit and Science by John Redford (c1540) 7.00pm Sunday 7th July – Levi Fox Hall CV37 6BE Tickets: £10; Concessions: £5 6.00pm Monday 8th July – The Chapel. New College Oxford OX1 3BN Tickets: £10; Concessions: £5 7.00pm Tuesday 9th July – the Priory Church the Order of St John, Clerkenwell, London EC1V 4JJ Tickets: £12; Concessions: £6  Tickets for performances may be purchased by means of the online Box Office (https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kes
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Marston himself calls The Malcontent “asperam… thaliam”: a harsh or rough comedy; it is sometimes called a tragi-comedy. The rehearsal process has suggested a different emphasis, a comi-tragedy. It’s so savagely funny, but in an invasive, provocative, unsentimental way. Be warned: this will not be a comfortable evening.
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“Dreams, dreams, visions, fantasies, chimeras, imaginations, tricks, conceits!”   This tragi-comedy is considered Marston’s masterpiece, full of reversals and transformations, surprises and disguises. A bitter satire, suffused with savage irony throughout, the play is a timely reminder of the worst excesses of fallen humanity driven by lust and ambition. It also demands great musical resources.  First performed in 1604 at the Blackfriars by “the Children of Her Majesty’s Revels”, one of the two leading boys’ companies of the day, The Malcontent is presented by Edward’s Boys at the request of the Oxford Marston Project. The production marks the ongoing publication
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Edward’s Boys are delighted to announce that our March 2019 production will be John Marston’s tragi-comedy The Malcontent, directed by Perry Mills. This production will be given as part of the Oxford Marston Project. Dates and venues will be confirmed shortly, but will include performances in Oxford and London as well as Stratford-upon-Avon. Tickets will go on sale at the start of January. To be first to hear about ticket availability, please sign up for our mailing list using the form at the foot of this page.
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An Illustrated Lecture featuring Edward’s Boys   As far as we know, Samuel Daniel’s The Tragedy of Philotas was only performed once, probably in January 1605. The actors were all choristers in the company known as the Children of the Queen’s Revels. It was niche drama, and the choice of inflammatory subject matter—satire on the state–was surely part of the attraction. And the performance earned Daniel the unwelcome scrutiny of the Privy Council, possibly on account of a perceived resemblance between the play’s protagonist and the Earl of Essex, who had been executed for rebellion and treason in 1601. Furthermore, Philotas
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DVDs of live performances of The Woman in the Moon (April 2018) and When Paul’s Boys Met Edward’s Boys (June 2018) are now available on DVD. Please click here to go to the shop to order your copy.
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The year 1600 was the first in many that avid theatregoers had the choice of going to see not one, but two, professional all-boy troupes: the Children of Paul’s (1599-1606), who worked, predictably, out of a small indoor playhouse in the cloisters of Paul’s Cathedral, and the Children of the Chapel/Revels/Blackfriars/Queen’s Revels (1600-1613; they had a bit of an identity crisis), who occupied a larger venue in the Blackfriars. The companies were united in their experimental nature, their inventive approach to playwriting and performance, and, if the plays written for them are anything to go by, their shared possession of
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