The Duchess of Malfi

Synopsis

The Duchess of Malfi is a wealthy young widow. Jealous of her fortune, her two brothers, the Cardinal and her twin Ferdinand, decide she must not remarry. To this end they introduce a spy into her household, the ruthless Bosola. The court of Malfi is a treacherous place, with political, religious and personal allegiances in constant conflict. But the Duchess is blinded to its dangers by her love for her servant, Antonio. When their marriage is revealed her outraged brothers determine on a devastating course of action. Revenge breeds revenge, love turns to hate and a powerful tale of despair and madness inexorably unfolds.

Our Review:

29 January 2003

Though written in 1613, The Duchess of Malfi is a very modern play. Webster must have been one of the first writers to recognise the power of psychological torment, and is certainly one of the first writers to comment so frankly on women's sexuality - even if the Duchess is ultimately punished for her 'crime'.

Yet Phyllida Lloyd's version - while occasionally touched with greatness - disappoints, mainly because Webster's text has been so savagely hacked. Lovers of the macabre will miss the werewolf scene, for instance, while also absent are the Cardinal's musings on hell-fire and the ravings of the mad (the last replaced by a scene of psychological torture à la Clockwork Orange).

The evening starts promisingly with Antonio winning the equestrian competition at which Will Keen's Ferdinand acts like a sleazy master of ceremonies. This establishes him early on as someone wanting control, someone who thrives on flattery and double-dealing and,...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (80.225.196.13) - 2 April 2003:

Not the best show in town, I did not fully enjoy this rather creaky staging of this old yarn. Lloyd has not sorted out the moments of contrived melodrama, and with no intervel for 2 hours it was rather painful.Also I suppose Lloyd thought she was being clever in making the dead characters stand up and sit at the back to watch the other characters die, but to this viewer it seemed pretentious.However on saying all this, there was some good acting on show. Mcteer fares well as the doomed Duchess, and I have to mention the actor Will Keen, he is surely a star of the future, I thought he was brilliant in the Stoppard trilogy and he is definetly the best actor in this production....

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