In both the text and play, the plot of Arden of Faversham focuses on the consequences of Alice and Mosby’s relationship. Polly Findlay’s production places the characters in a modern world of complete commodification. In this performance, the emphasis of Mosby and Alice’s sexual reaction to murder recognizes their inability to see anyone else around them as something other than an article of trade or commerce. Through identifying Alice and Mosby’s relationship as one sexually fueled by the idea of murder, it becomes something of advantage and value in their relationship, and the sexuality associated with this act emphasizes the foundations upon which Alice and Mosby’s relationship rests. Their relationship implies a mutual obsession with doing anything possible to gain what they desire. Their sexual desire for Arden’s death displays the most extreme case of commodification.
In both the text and this production, the dialogue begins with a conversation between Arden and Franklin about Alice’s love affair with Mosby. However, in this production, the play begins before the audience is seated; natural stage lighting exists throughout the first scene. Arden, in a blue business-like suit and suspenders, sits at his desk upon which a boob cup, golden waving kitty, and a Jesus bobble-head sit. Arden appears bored throughout this scene and watches the workers in his factory as he looks through some paperwork. This area can be understood as a factory through the noises of machines, packages across the stage, and pulley. The workers wear grey jumpsuits and complete mindless, mundane tasks such as packaging, taping, and transporting goods.
These plain, modern costumes can be understood today to represent the dreary world in which they work. The modernity accentuates the effects of commodification in today’s world; it makes the play incredibly relevant. Each worker looks extremely bored and their disinterest can be understood through their movements. One worker sways along once elevator type music begins to play, another stares at the ceiling as she allows paper wrappings to fall through her hands, and another visibly chews gum; each character on stage appears overwhelmed by complete apathy. Because this scene begins before the audience finds their seats, it emphasizes the meaninglessness of this world. Many members of the audience will be unable to see the entirety of this scene, and this choice accentuates the bleak uselessness of this world. The valueless trinkets on Arden’s desk also sit around the edges of the stage. These pointless objects set the stage for the world of commodification in which the characters live.
Once the dialogue begins, Alice and Mosby’s love affair becomes the focus of the conversation, and upon her entrance, Alice captures everyone’s attention. Once Alice arrives on stage, she immediately steals the show; her sexuality can be understood through her costume, mannerisms, and dialogue. Alice dons a tight black and floral dress which compliments the play’s backdrop, a painting of a pastoral town with a red frame. Her hair appears neatly done in an elaborate bouffant and her makeup features bright blush, blue eye shadow, and long, red nails. This actress also wears high heels and lots of bulky, gold jewelry. The characterization is flashy and materialistic. Once she begins to speak, her fickle and deceitful nature can be understood through the great amount of inflections in her voice and melodramatic responses to her husband. Findlay chose to keep most of the conversation as it appears in the text and continues to have factory workers move around as the dialogue continues.
The text in this scene and the actress’s performance expose Alice’s ability to manipulate her husband. Sharon Small plays up this ability through flailing her arms, pointing at herself, Franklin, and her husband as if highly offended, and creating intensely intimate moments after his accusations. I noticed the scene’s adherence to the text when Arden states, “But this night, sweet Alice, thou hast killed my heart; I heard thee call on Mosby in thy sleep” (scene 1). Alice replies, ‘Tis like I was asleep when I named him, /For being awake he comes not in my thoughts” (1 67-68). At this point, Alice dramatically flails around, and her overzealousness to deny his accusations seems to almost confirm his doubts. She also looks around at this point as if expecting to find an adequate excuse. She then states, “Instead of him? Why who was there but you? And where but one is how can I mistake?” (1.1 71-72). Here, Alice gestures towards Arden’s crotch and both the absurdity and sexuality of Alice’s predicament reveals itself. Through gesticulating throughout this scene, and speaking in animated, high tones, the audience fails to believe Alice because she appears worried and comical rather than offended and concerned throughout the scene.
Alice eventually convinces her husband to leave through kisses and declarations of love, and as soon as he exits, Alice moves to the intimate portion of the thrust stage and speaks to the audience as if conversing with a close friend. She moves her weight from side to side as she rubs her hands excitedly together and proclaims, “sweet news is this” (1.1 94). The director chose to cut out the line before this statement, and this decision emphasizes Alice’s ability to quickly transition from despairingly kissing her husband goodbye to excitedly exclaiming his absence. Clearly, Alice does not care about her husband if she can transition so quickly and seamlessly. The director’s next edit to the text confirms this. Instead of Adam entering, Mosby enters in a bright purple suit. The two begin to fight and Alice slightly alters the lines as they appear in the text to speak directly to Mosby rather than about him. In the text they state, “Ask Mosby how I have incurred his wrath;/ Bear him from me these pair of silver dice/ With which we played for kisses many a time,/ And when I lost I won, and so did he” (1.1 122-125). This alteration to the text emphasizes Mosby and Alice’s intimacy and also alludes to blasé commodification when Alice reaches into the box with dice on Arden’s desk and finds the dice to which she refers. This particular interaction emphasizes their irreverence to Arden and his goods and manipulates the text to focus on Alice and Mosby. The text becomes far more poignant when spoken to each other, and the commodification continues as workers walk around throughout this intimate scene.
Arden’s murder materializes as the ultimate commodity when Alice embraces Mosby in a loving embrace as soon as they believe him dead. Mosby states, “Why this deserves a kiss,” a lines which does not appear in the text, and he licks his lips before the two embrace one another and passionately kiss before they realize that Arden lives. At this moment, Alice leaves Mosby’s side, grabs a knife from the beautifully prepared dinner table and states, “What, groans thou? Nay then, give me the weapon/ Take this for hind’ring Mosby’s love and mine” (14 234-235). The kiss does not exist in the text, but the stabbing which ensues, does. Findlay’s interpretation, that Arden interrupted their love and kiss, implies a sexually based love between Mosby and Alice, and this addition in
performance accentuates the idea that Arden’s murder became a commodity to the sexual love between Alice and Arden.
I enjoyed Findlay’s interpretative choices throughout the production because they emphasize the alarming implications of commodification in the modern world and possess textual warrant due to the references to Arden’s acquisition of new lands, and Alice and Mosby’s attempts to involve other people in Arden’s murder. The alterations in the dialogue focus on Mosby and Alice rather than extraneous characters such as Franklin, and hone in on the most important themes. Through focusing on both the overwhelming presence of commodities throughout the play and Alice’s sexual love for Mosby, Findlay’s production of Arden of Faversham introduces murder as the extreme commodity these characters desire.