Don Carlos

by Friedrich Schiller
Translated by Robert Davis MacDonald
Director Gadi Roll
With Tom Burke as Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa

A magnificent tale of passion and power set against the chilling backdrop of the bloody and ruthless Spanish Inquisition.
Don Carlos is torn apart when his tyrannical father King Philip II seals a peace deal by marrying French noble Elizabeth de Valois, the love of Carlos’ life. The heartbroken heir turns for help to his closest friend, Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, a champion of the oppressed, who questions the monarch’s iron rule and becomes an unlikely power broker in the duplicitous court.

Schiller’s work is full of Shakespearean echoes and its themes of justice and equality; freedom of expression and conscience; religious bigotry and state persecution are as relevant today as ever.

Director Gadi Roll brings his trademark dynamic imagery and haunting sound-scapes to Schiller’s masterpiece.
This major new revival stars Tom Burke (Strike, War and Peace and The Musketeers) as the Marquis of Posa, and forms part of Exeter Northcott Theatre’s 50th anniversary season.