The Duchess (Of Malfi)

Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi is perhaps the most thrilling and chilling of the Jacobean revenge tragedies – an exploration of male rage and female resistance as two bothers try and control their sister, block her marriage and repress her agency with fatal results. It was these themes of patriarchy versus female empowerment which convinced Zinnie Harris that the play is ripe for an adaptation which chimes with our contemporary concerns surrounding #MeToo and the abuse of male power.