This workshop was run by Splendid Productions for a group of 12-14 year olds at Isca College, Exeter, on 8th July 2015. It explored the differences between morality and success through a series of performance-related exercises. It concluded with participants perform, in groups, parts of Marlowe’s ‘Machevill’ prologue in the style of popular ‘love-to-hate’ figures of today, such as Simon Cowell.
FEEDBACK. Isca’s drama teacher, Karen Lambert, had this to say about the workshop:
‘I loved the opportunity to work with Kerry Frampton. She brought an incredible energy to the day and everything she did. I’m really looking forward to taking my students to see the Odyssey at Barnfield in September and hopefully having the opportunity to work with Splendid Productions again. Thank you very much to Dr Edward Paleit and Exeter University for providing Isca with the opportunity today. we would love to be involved with any further workshops.’
The pupils involved in the workshop were also asked to consider in groups what they thought about Marlowe, how to provoke an audience and the glamour of villainy. See below for their responses! (Among many highlights, I like the description of Marlowe as an ‘attent[i]on seeker in a good way’ and the thought that ‘we might agree with them [i.e., the villains]’).