The Duchess of Malfi

Ten years after opening the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014, John Webster’s seminal revenge tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi, returns to London’s only indoor candlelit theatre from February 2024. A forbidden marriage. A hidden family. A dangerous web of secrets and lies. The recently widowed Duchess falls in love with her steward, Antonio. Her brothers, eager to keep her under their control, warn her not to remarry. But some things are worth fighting – and lying – for… In a rigid, male-dominated world, how far does a woman have to go to protect those she loves the most? And what desperate measures will the men in her life take to control her story?

Award-winning Director Rachel Bagshaw (Midnight Movie, Royal Court) makes her Globe directorial debut with this ground-breaking anniversary production of Webster’s violent tale of misogyny and deceit.

The Duchess of Malfi is part of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse 10th anniversary season. ‘I account this world a tedious theatre, For I do play a part in’t ‘gainst my will.’ Act IV, scene 1