ABSTRACT
Jonson still has something of a testosterone-ridden image. Peter Barnes claimed that Jonson needs playing ‘with balls’ and ‘groin heat’; Simon Russell-Beale described Jonson as ‘a young man’s playwright’ because ‘there’s something about those plays that is very cynical, that can take a lot of macho things thrown at them’; John Nettles agreed with Beale and went on to characterise Jonson’s writing as showing ‘a great flashiness, a great desire to show off-bang! wallop! look at this theatrical effect! this coup de théâtre!’ Sam Mendes characterised Jonson as a playwright who in today’s terms could be seen as a beer-drinking, non-PC lad.
