The Jew of Malta is a strange beast. Like its author Christopher Marlowe, it is full of contradictions. Whilst its full title is 'The Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta',  the poet and author T S Eliot famously concluded that it was indeed a farce filled with 'savage comic humour'.

It has been described as anti-Semitic, but also as anti-Christian and anti-Muslim, however it is probably best described as anti-religious, a tragi-comedy based on Marlowe's understanding of the realpolitik of his days. The result is an Elizabethan House of Cards, imbued with a Mediterranean energy and vitality.

The play itself is set in an alternate history of Malta, which, in this version, did not suffer the Great Siege. Instead, the Knights of Malta  come to an arrangement with the threatening Turks to stave off invasion by paying them a yearly tribute.

However, as is often the case, this payment has been  postponed for ten years, due to more pressing issues and so, when the Turks  finally  decided to call in the debt, the governor of the island decides to  collect the funds by taxing  all the Jewish minority of the island and taking 50 per cent of their property, money and goods.

One man, Barabbas, who also happens to be the richest man on the island, protests. And for his troubles has all his property requisitioned. From that point Barabbas is bent on ever-more bloody revenge in ever-more ingenious ways, as he crosses, and double-crosses, friends and enemies, and even his own daughter.

In this play, Marlowe creates a Malta inhabited by characters, mainly leaders of the State and the Church, who believe the end always justifies the means. So, it is no surprise that the spirit of Machiavel (or as he is named in this production Machevil - Make evil) haunts the streets of this particular Malta.

This is a Malta where the motto is survival of the most devious and underhand dealings are the order of the day; where politics, religion and corruption go hand in hand with the ultimate aim, which is the pursuit of money; where the thriving mercantile economy is founded on the backs of exploited slaves and minority communities.

Although hazy on historical fact, Marlowe's Malta is steeped in a deep knowledge of the politics of the Mediterranean and Europe.  This is hardly surprising. Many scholars have concluded that Marlowe was himself a spy, and possibly double agent, for Queen Elizabeth's court. He was also arrested in mysterious circumstances involving counterfeit coins and a Catholic seditious insurrection in the Netherlands.

Also suspicious was his early death at the age of just 29, ten days after another warrant for his arrest was issued and has led to speculation that he may have been killed off by someone in authority having become 'inconvenient'.

There is a sense of urgency in Marlowe's plays. They are filled with characters who over-reach themselves, who dare to break the rules.  Barabbas is no exception. Using cunning and wit he has climbed the ladder out of poverty to become the richest man in Malta and using those same talents he wreaks havoc on the political and religious classes in ever ingenious ways.

As a result, in The Jew of Malta, Marlowe has created a fast-moving potboiler. Filled with fisticuffs, violent murders and some very  funny  moments, it's almost as though Quentin Tarantino reimagined Fiddler on the Roof and Tevye has gone ballistic.

It is hardly surprising that it has been described by modern-day critics as prescient, reverberating and immediate.

In The Jew of Malta, Marlowe's cynical 'outsider' voice comes through with brilliant clarity, throwing a light on a Malta that prefers to hide its truths beneath layers of pageantry, propaganda and sophistry, and then boldly declaring 'there is no sin but ignorance'.

 

The Jew of Malta will be performed at Teatru Manoel on 5, 6, 7 and 12, 13, 14 October 2018.  All performances start at 8pm; except for the October 6 performance, which starts at 6pm.

 Tickets at €25, €20 and €10; discounted ticket available for students and senior citizens.

Bookings on 2124 6389 or www.teatrumanoel.com.

Classification 14+

Partly funded by Arts Council Malta - Malta Arts Fund