The Royal Hunt of the Sun
Encyclopedia
The Royal Hunt of the Sun is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer
that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador
Francisco Pizarro
.
by the National Theatre
and subsequently at the Old Vic in July 1964.
It was directed by John Dexter
and designed by Michael Annals
with music composed by Marc Wilkinson
and movement by Claude Chagrin.
The cast was led by Robert Stephens
as Atahualpa
and Colin Blakely
as Francisco Pizarro and included Oliver Cotton
, Graham Crowden
, Paul Curran, Michael Gambon
, Edward Hardwicke
, Anthony Hopkins
, Derek Jacobi
, Robert Lang
, John McEnery, Edward Petherbridge
, Louise Purnell and Christopher Timothy
.
The production was a success and in addition to its run at the Old Vic, it played at the Queen's Theatre
, London and toured to Aberdeen
, Glasgow
, Stratford
, Leeds
, Oxford
and Nottingham
.
performance took place at the ANTA Playhouse
on 26 October 1965. The production by the Theatre Guild
was the same as the original London production. In the cast were Christopher Plummer
as Pizarro, David Carradine
as Atahualpa and George Rose as Old Martin. The lighting design by Martin Aronstein
marked the first time exposed lighting was used as an integral part of the design of a Broadway production. The play ran for 261 performances.
studio in 1969, with Robert Shaw
as Pizarro, Christopher Plummer switching roles to play Atahualpa, Nigel Davenport
as Hernando De Soto, and Leonard Whiting
, in his first role after Romeo and Juliet
, as Young Martin (Old Martin was omitted from the film). The screen version has been released on DVD.
, designed by Anthony Ward with the original music by Marc Wilkinson and choreography by Anthony Van Laast
. Leading the cast were Alun Armstrong
as Pizarro and Paterson Joseph
as Atahualpa
.
, was put on in the autumn programme at the Oxford Playhouse. It was staged by students of Oxford University from 27 - 30 October 2010, and received five stars from the Oxford Theatre Review.
, was premièred by ENO
at the London Coliseum in 1977.
, and Vicente de Valverde, a Catholic priest determined to spread the shining light of Christianity. It is narrated or commented upon by Old Martin, a jaded man in his mid-fifties. Young Martin - another character in the play - is his younger counterpart, integrated with the time-frame in which the expedition commences. At the beginning of the voyage he is obsessed with chivalry, glory and honour, but becomes increasingly disillusioned throughout, as Pizarro's crisis of faith also unravels.
The Spanish invade Peru, hungry for gold. After many weeks, they climb a mountain to reach the abode of Atahualpa, the king of Incas and also the son of the Sun god. The Spaniards massacre 3,000 Incas and take Atahualpa captive. Instead of killing him, Pizarro makes a deal with Atahualpa whereby, if he fills an entire room with objects made from gold in two months, Atahualpa will be set free and will not harm Pizarro. As the room fills up, Pizarro and Atahualpa become increasingly close. Pizarro, who suffers constant pain from an old wound, has a crisis of faith. He reveals to Martin that he used to dream of the Sun God as a child. When the room is finally filled, Pizarro asks Atahualpa to swear to leave his men unharmed, but the king refuses. The Spaniards urge Pizarro to have Atahualpa executed, and the beginnings of a mutiny against Pizarro stir. Atahualpa tells Pizarro to allow his men to kill him, because, as the son of the Sun, he will revive the morning after anybody kills him. Pizarro agrees to do this, and is inducted into the Incan religion by Atahualpa personally. Atahualpa is decreed to burn at the stake, and Pizarro has this changed to strangling (since Atahualpa's body is required intact for the rebirth to work) if Atahualpa agrees to be baptised. He does so, and is strangled. Pizarro waits until dawn with the body, but it does not re-awake, leading him to hold the body and weep while Old Martin narrates the end of the story.
The expedition is predominantly in the name of gold, religion and belief; all Incas being heathens who must be brought before God. The play critically studies these two themes throughout the discovery of Atahualpa - the Inca Sun God - and massacre of the Incas themselves.
Music is a key element to this play, more so than any other by Peter Shaffer. He wanted strange and disturbing sounds produced on primitive instruments such as saws, reed pipes, drums (tablas and bongos) and cymbals to create the aural world of 16th Century Peru. Shaffer was so impressed with Marc Wilkinson's score for The Royal Hunt Of The Sun that he now considers it "integral to the play."
The staging is relatively simple: an upper and lower part to the stage making up the ground plan. The main attribute is the image of the sun, which presents a creative challenge for all who undertake this mammoth production. There have been numerous suns over the years, but when the play was first staged it was a large metal contraption, with huge 'petals' that opened up and outwards. Visuals are of the essence with this play, especially the lavish Inca costumes.
Although the play is performed on an open platform stage with little scenery, the film version opened it up considerably.
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
.
Premiere
The Royal Hunt of the Sun was first presented at the Chichester FestivalChichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
by the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and subsequently at the Old Vic in July 1964.
It was directed by John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
and designed by Michael Annals
Michael Annals
Michael Annals is a theatrical scenic and costume designer.-Biography:Michael Annals was born in what was then Harrow, Middlesex on April 21, 1938. His parents were Henry Ernest Annals and Constance Anne Annals...
with music composed by Marc Wilkinson
Marc Wilkinson
Marc Wilkinson is an Australian composer and conductor best known for his film scores, most particularly Blood on Satan's Claw, and music for the theatre. For most of his life resident in the UK, his approach has combined traditional techniques with elements of the avant-garde...
and movement by Claude Chagrin.
The cast was led by Robert Stephens
Robert Stephens
Sir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
as Atahualpa
Atahualpa
Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru...
and Colin Blakely
Colin Blakely
Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
as Francisco Pizarro and included Oliver Cotton
Oliver Cotton
Oliver Cotton is an English actor, known for his work on stage, TV and film.After training at the Drama Centre London, he has worked extensively at the Royal National Theatre playing in many productions including The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Much Ado About...
, Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
, Paul Curran, Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
, Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke , sometimes credited as Edward Hardwick, was an English actor.-Early life and career:...
, Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, Robert Lang
Robert Lang (actor)
Robert Lang was an English actor of stage and television. Laurence Olivier invited him to join the new National Theatre Company, at the Old Vic, Robert Lang was already earning high praise as an actor. From 1971 until his death he was married to Ann Bell, best known for her portrayal of Marion...
, John McEnery, Edward Petherbridge
Edward Petherbridge
Edward Petherbridge is a British actor. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in several screen adaptations of Dorothy L...
, Louise Purnell and Christopher Timothy
Christopher Timothy
Christopher Timothy is a Welsh actor, television director and writer. Timothy is possibly best known today for his role as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small; more recently he has starred as Dr. Brendan 'Mac' McGuire in the British television drama Doctors...
.
The production was a success and in addition to its run at the Old Vic, it played at the Queen's Theatre
Queen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
, London and toured to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Stratford
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
.
Broadway
The first BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
performance took place at the ANTA Playhouse
August Wilson Theatre
The August Wilson Theatre, located at 245 West 52nd Street in New York City, is a Broadway theatre.Designed by architects C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and constructed by the Theatre Guild, it opened as the Guild Theatre in 1925 with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and...
on 26 October 1965. The production by the Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
was the same as the original London production. In the cast were Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
as Pizarro, David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as Atahualpa and George Rose as Old Martin. The lighting design by Martin Aronstein
Martin Aronstein
Martin Aronstein was an American lighting designer whose Broadway career spanned thirty-six years.Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Aronstein attended Queens College in Flushing, New York. In 1957, following a performance sponsored by the New York Shakespeare Festival, he approached a backstage...
marked the first time exposed lighting was used as an integral part of the design of a Broadway production. The play ran for 261 performances.
Film version
The play was filmed on location by the now defunct National General PicturesNational General Pictures
National General Pictures was a Distribution and Film production company which was active between 1967 and 1973. NGP produced nine motion pictures inhouse and was the distributor of eighty films....
studio in 1969, with Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
as Pizarro, Christopher Plummer switching roles to play Atahualpa, Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
as Hernando De Soto, and Leonard Whiting
Leonard Whiting
Leonard Whiting is a British actor who starred as Romeo in the 1968 Zeffirelli film version of Romeo and Juliet opposite Olivia Hussey's Juliet, a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor....
, in his first role after Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian cinematic adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also...
, as Young Martin (Old Martin was omitted from the film). The screen version has been released on DVD.
2006 revival
The play was revived by the National at the Olivier Theatre in April 2006 in a production directed by Trevor NunnTrevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
, designed by Anthony Ward with the original music by Marc Wilkinson and choreography by Anthony Van Laast
Anthony Van Laast
Anthony Van Laast is a choreographer, mainly for the stage, concerts, television and film. His works have appeared in the West End and on Broadway.-Career:Van Laast was born in Sussex, UK...
. Leading the cast were Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong (actor)
Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as Pizarro and Paterson Joseph
Paterson Joseph
-Career:Born in London. Attended Cardinal Hinsley R.C High School in North West London. Joseph first trained at the Studio '68 of Theatre Arts, London – 1983–85 with Robert Henderson, then at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . In recent years he has had a high number of roles in...
as Atahualpa
Atahualpa
Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru...
.
2010
A production of the play, directed by Charlotte Beynon and starring Alfie EnochAlfred Enoch
Alfred "Alfie" Lewis Enoch is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films. He currently attends Oxford University.-Life and career:...
, was put on in the autumn programme at the Oxford Playhouse. It was staged by students of Oxford University from 27 - 30 October 2010, and received five stars from the Oxford Theatre Review.
Opera
An opera based on the play, with music and libretto by British composer Iain HamiltonIain Hamilton (composer)
Iain Ellis Hamilton was a Scottish composer.He was educated in London where he became an apprentice engineer, and remained in that profession for the next seven years. He undertook the study of music in his spare time...
, was premièred by ENO
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
at the London Coliseum in 1977.
Synopsis
The play begins in Spain, where Pizarro recruits 167 men for an expedition to Peru. He is accompanied by his second-in-command Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
, and Vicente de Valverde, a Catholic priest determined to spread the shining light of Christianity. It is narrated or commented upon by Old Martin, a jaded man in his mid-fifties. Young Martin - another character in the play - is his younger counterpart, integrated with the time-frame in which the expedition commences. At the beginning of the voyage he is obsessed with chivalry, glory and honour, but becomes increasingly disillusioned throughout, as Pizarro's crisis of faith also unravels.
The Spanish invade Peru, hungry for gold. After many weeks, they climb a mountain to reach the abode of Atahualpa, the king of Incas and also the son of the Sun god. The Spaniards massacre 3,000 Incas and take Atahualpa captive. Instead of killing him, Pizarro makes a deal with Atahualpa whereby, if he fills an entire room with objects made from gold in two months, Atahualpa will be set free and will not harm Pizarro. As the room fills up, Pizarro and Atahualpa become increasingly close. Pizarro, who suffers constant pain from an old wound, has a crisis of faith. He reveals to Martin that he used to dream of the Sun God as a child. When the room is finally filled, Pizarro asks Atahualpa to swear to leave his men unharmed, but the king refuses. The Spaniards urge Pizarro to have Atahualpa executed, and the beginnings of a mutiny against Pizarro stir. Atahualpa tells Pizarro to allow his men to kill him, because, as the son of the Sun, he will revive the morning after anybody kills him. Pizarro agrees to do this, and is inducted into the Incan religion by Atahualpa personally. Atahualpa is decreed to burn at the stake, and Pizarro has this changed to strangling (since Atahualpa's body is required intact for the rebirth to work) if Atahualpa agrees to be baptised. He does so, and is strangled. Pizarro waits until dawn with the body, but it does not re-awake, leading him to hold the body and weep while Old Martin narrates the end of the story.
The expedition is predominantly in the name of gold, religion and belief; all Incas being heathens who must be brought before God. The play critically studies these two themes throughout the discovery of Atahualpa - the Inca Sun God - and massacre of the Incas themselves.
Music is a key element to this play, more so than any other by Peter Shaffer. He wanted strange and disturbing sounds produced on primitive instruments such as saws, reed pipes, drums (tablas and bongos) and cymbals to create the aural world of 16th Century Peru. Shaffer was so impressed with Marc Wilkinson's score for The Royal Hunt Of The Sun that he now considers it "integral to the play."
The staging is relatively simple: an upper and lower part to the stage making up the ground plan. The main attribute is the image of the sun, which presents a creative challenge for all who undertake this mammoth production. There have been numerous suns over the years, but when the play was first staged it was a large metal contraption, with huge 'petals' that opened up and outwards. Visuals are of the essence with this play, especially the lavish Inca costumes.
Although the play is performed on an open platform stage with little scenery, the film version opened it up considerably.