The Duchess of Malfi is probably my favorite non-Shakespeare early modern play. I love the drama, unhinged chaos, and the fact that this is one of (is not the only) early modern tragedy where
the protagonist is a woman! When this production was first announced, I was so excited, I bought tickets immediately. An adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi with original music? Yes, please! I really enjoyed Zinnie Harris' interpretation. This production was in completely modern language, featuring a few key lines from Webster's original text, which I definitely waited for with baited breath. Set in a hauntingly bare and industrialist house (designed by Tom Piper and Max Johns), which gave off big asylum vibes, sparse from color, the visuals of this production were striking, to say the least.
Jodie Whittaker was just as vivacious and vibrant as I could have possibly wanted from the Duchess. Her performance in the second act was absolutely incredible, she really does 'rule the west
end' (Tatler). Paul Ready gave an unsettlingly unbothered performance as the Cardinal. Joel Fry's performance as Antonio was subdued and sweet. Jude Owusu's Bosola was wonderful, I recently saw him give an incredibly different performance in Kiss Me, Kate, and I was so impressed by his impeccable range. I'm a big fan of Matti Houghton's work, and her spirited Cariola did not disappoint. I loved Elizabeth Ayodele's nuanced performance as Julia (they built her role out nicely). I especially loved Rory Fleck Byrne's completely unhinged performance as Ferdinand.
The adaptation was really true to the original play, which I appreciate above all else. Some bit parts were cut or combined into other characters. Some relationships between supporting roles were written in to simplify plots, which was fine, I don't super think any of them added much to the story, but it was nice to see Julia's character be built out a bit. The music was nice, I'll be honest it sometimes felt a bit random, but the Duchess's opening song was good, and really liked the song after the deaths of the Duchess, Cariola, and Isabella. Above all, I really appreciated how this production highlighted the violence against all the women, that's what makes this play a tragedy, and a unique one in that. The Duchess isn't a traditionally flawed hero. She has no tragic flaws
(sure she's a bit impulsive), but unlike Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, or any other classical tragic hero, her only fault was that she was a woman in a man's world, and I think that's the ultimate tragedy. The most powerful moment was when the executioners come in to kill her, and she never surrenders her honor. She dies proclaiming "I am the Duchess of Malfi still" and I got chills as Whittaker repeated this line from the original play over and over again. In Webster's original play, the Duchess is never given a name, but I just adored how this production gave her the historically accurate name of the woman it's based on, Giovanna. Naming the Duchess gives her a new sense of identity and agency, which was a beautiful touch.
I love how the production really leaned into Ferdinand's lycanthropy at the end, I think that is honestly such a funny bit. Like it's as dark as an be and he totally deserves it for his treatment of his poor sister, but I'm just obsessed that Webster wrote it in the first place. This play usually features severed hand, wax effigy corpses, and a poisoned bible. Unfortunately, these did not make it into the modern adaptation. There was no severed hand with a wedding band, unfortunately that moment was entirely cut, but instead of wax effigy corpses of her husband and son, this production went full modern torture; with loud noises, flashing lights, and falsified videos of Antonio and Nico being shot playing over and over again to drive the Duchess to despair. I must say, the production did not hold back, this scene was hard to watch, and the sound cues were excruciatingly loud. It was extremely effective, to say the least. And, instead of there being a poisoned bible, Julia died by the Cardinal shoving pages of the Bible down her throat and suffocating her, kinda poetic that a woman died by being silenced by the Church. And finally, there was lots of blood flying across the stage during the final scene with everyone shooting each other. This was the quintessential Jacobean bloody tragedy, just in contemporary language. It was truly everything I could have wanted it to be. My only major comments would be that I wish there could've been just a few more uses of the original text, and some of the music just didn't feel like it added to the rest of the story.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
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