Shakespeare Theater’s Tamburlaine has a snazzy new venue, a gravitas-heavy star and some looming special effects.

If only the play were a little more interesting.

Maybe Rorschach Theater’s recent sexy treatment of Tamburlaine scribe Christopher Marlowe has heightened our expectations — how could a figure with such a dashing, myth-heavy past produce such a lumbering, monotonous work? Unfortunately, even the author’s more lyrical moments can’t hold our attention for this three hour-plus extravaganza.