Royal Hunt of the Sun is a little performed play by Peter Shaffer. After seeing it, it becomes clear why. This is a play in which gold is a main character, in which the cast start off in Spain, end up in Peru, tramp through jungle, cross the Andes (yes, cross the Andes), massacre 3,000 Incans, and all the while conduct a deep and profound argument about the morals of invasion, and the place of religion in today’s society. And in this case, all on a student budget.
The cast make a valiant effort, but in the first half I was completely lost. I think this was in part due to confusing staging, and in part due to the fact that in the first scene I couldn’t really hear what they were saying because of the ‘ambient’ noise of sweeping and blacksmithery. Then I was distracted by Incans on stilts.
Things improve vastly in the second half, thanks in no small part to the fact that it’s all set on the same continent so the staging can be much simpler. Also, Joe Robertson as the Incan god Atahuallpa is allowed to take off his Golden Grahams headdress and really shine as the son of the sun. Maybe it was part of the message of the play, but it was only when the god stopped being a distant figure on a pedestal in a comedy hat and became a man that I was really able to engage with their world, and thus with the play as a whole.
There are some really interesting arguments, and a couple of great performances, but for me the treasure was too far out of reach.
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