The White Devil

Synopsis

When the adulterous Brachiano and Vittoria become involved in a dangerous affair, an explosive conclusion seems inevitable. In a corrupt and savage Italy, where no one is who they seem, the individual must fight for survival against the structures that define their very existence: the State, the Church and their own sense of right and wrong. Based on actual events, Webster’s haunting and brutal play delves into the darkest recesses of the human condition in this visceral and explosive celebration of poetry and theatre.

Our Review:

12 November 2010

The White Devil is set in Padua and charts the love and intrigue between Duke Bracciano and  Vittoria, whose impoverished family and hails from Venice (a byword in English Renaissance theatre for vice). In order to marry his lover, Bracciano arranges the murders of Isabella and Camillo, his wife and Vittoria’s husband. However, it is Vittoria who is brought to trial by a horrifyingly misogynistic court.

The play is as much about class as gender conflict and casting the disgraced but noble Vittoria as a northern lass in a predominantly RP court is surprising and very effective. Hollie McGovern plays Vittoria with dignity and intelligence, refusing to become a victim despite the unfairness of her fate.

Ricky Dukes’ production owes much to Marianne Elliott’s Women Beware Women at the National earlier this year. Text is cut and replaced with action, which keeps the pace engaging but sa...

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