The Guthrie Theater’s Born with Teeth: A Discussion with Director, Rob Melrose

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Rob MelroseBorn with Teeth is at the Guthrie through April 2 – don’t delay in getting tickets. Yes, you could stay home and stream the latest video on Netflix, but you would miss the immediacy and vibrancy of two actors giving their all for 90 minutes with no intermission. We talked to Director Rob Melrose about why the play is relevant today and I can attest that you’re going to love the action, danger and betrayal. 

Q:  For people who shy away from Shakespeare productions, what would you tell them that might entice them to see Born with Teeth? 

A:  Although the play is set in Elizabethan times, the design and the language have a distinctively contemporary almost punk feel. So, it is not at all like hearing a Shakespeare play and not understanding some of the words. Also, the play is 90 minutes long with two actors and is packed with acting and action. There is a palpable tension between the two actors from the start of the play and it never lets up, right to the very end. Audiences do not need to know anything about Shakespeare or Marlowe when planning to see the show. I've had friends who are non-theater people come see it and it. I think there is just something undeniable about seeing two wonderful actors acting their hearts out.

Dylan Godwin (left) playing Will Shakespeare and Matthew Amendt playing Kit Marlowe

Q:  You do your research. For a production of Coriolanus you spent a week researching in DC at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Did Born with Teeth require research on your part? 

A:  Ha! Becky, how did you know that about Coriolanus? That was during my freelancing years when I had the luxury of spending a week in DC going to the Folger Shakespeare library. Now that I am the Artistic Director of the Alley Theatre in Houston, I have to spread out my research over a longer period in much smaller bursts. Part of my research is really a lifetime of studying, directing, and seeing plays by Shakespeare and Marlowe. There were a number of books I revisited specifically for this production, they were extremely helpful: Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt, A Year in the Life of Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro, The World of Christopher Marlowe by David Riggs, and The Reckoning by Charles Nicoll. 

Q:  Why is the play relevant for 2023 Minneapolis audiences? 

A:  The play is about being an artist during divisive and dangerous times. Playwright Liz Duffy Adams was inspired by a contemporary performance at the Belarus Free Theatre dealing with life under an authoritarian government. It made Liz think about the Renaissance Faires with turkey legs, dancing and beer drinking as being somewhat of a Disney-fied view of the time. People were split between Catholics and Protestants, and you could be executed if you were the wrong religion at the wrong time. There was spying and plague and riots and betrayal at every turn. I think that danger makes the play more immediate and makes it feel closer to our own uncertain times. There is nothing old-timey about it!