A King, and No King

In this audacious Jacobean drama, Arbaces, King of Iberia, returns from conquest with his prisoner: Tigranes, King of Armenia. The victory should be straightforward, but Arbaces makes a bewildering offer, his sister Panthea, whom Tigranes has never met, as part of the ransom. When Tigranes sees her portrait and falls instantly in love, Arbaces is forced to confront what he has casually promised: giving away his sister without her consent, without ever knowing the man to whom he'd bind her. Beneath the political maneuvering lies a savage examination of what makes a king: conquest, birthright, or something more elusive? The comic counterpoint arrives in Bessus, a coward who loudly boasts of bravery he lacks, skewering the honor culture that drives the noblemen's every exchange. Beaumont's play remains remarkably modern in its scrutiny of masculine performance and the dangerous theater of power.