Synopsis
Christopher Marlowe's play, The Massacre at Paris, was written in 1593 about the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, when three thousand Protestants were killed in one night in 1572, in a ruthless act of state terrorism by the Catholic government. The aftermath of this massacre led to the murder of a king and a sea-change in French history. Alex Johnston's adaptation enhances Marlowe's play for the 21st century, using a mixture of new and borrowed material. Terrorism, ethnic cleansing, the politics of bigotry, corruption in high office, spin doctoring and party political broadcasts augment this withering examination of human frailty.