Fascinating but frustrating. Those are the two words that most readily come to mind when describing David Grimm’s Kit Marlowe, Rorschach Theater’s latest production. The work’s plot is undeniably gripping, but the play is frequently hindered by a number of performances that, while certainly not poor, are strangely uneven.

What results is too many moments where a scene builds in momentum and tension, but is ultimately derailed by a flat or off-beat line delivery. Some actors seem miscast; others just seem off their game at times. William Aitken as Sir Walter Raleigh seems an example as a former. Aitken is great in a few of Marlowe’s moments, namely when he’s showing the explorer’s vulnerable, lovesick side. But otherwise, he never seems the imposing, romantic figure we’re told Raleigh is. Reece Thornbery is charmingly hammy as the famous actor Edward Alleyn, but unfortunately the hamminess carries over into his interpretation of the scheming Anthony Babington, whose villainy is so over the top that he’s literally hissing. Matt Dunphy’s first few moments onstage are a little wince-worthy — his prissy, uptight Thomas Walsingham, Marlowe’s friend and lover, doesn’t feel natural — but perhaps Dunphy just needed some time to relax, because he ultimately settles into what becomes one of the work’s most sympathetic characters.