The Duchess of Malfi, one of the best non-Shakespeare plays of the Jacobean era, is... strange.
It follows (a loosely historical) account of the second marriage of the titular Duchess, the machinations of her brothers -one a corrupt cardinal and the other, Ferdinand, an incestuous werewolf- who try to stop her remarrying, and the man used by them to spy on the Duchess, Bosola, who becomes increasingly disillusioned with their cause.
This play... has a lot of narm. Some of it, I believe, is somewhat intentional. A lot of these characters (the brothers especially), are meant to be pathetic, and I won't spoil the ending but it is very much a culmination of the pathetic nature of many of the characters. There are also some plot points and character decisions that are... strange. However, all of the unintentional narm falls under narm charm and makes those weaker parts of the play... quite endearing.
Make no mistake however, the majority of this play follows a macabre and gripping plot of love, hatred, regret, control and power. Some of it has aged badly (as is to be expected), but the entire moral of the story seems to be pure Values Resonance; we sympathise with the plight of the Duchess, who remarries for love and not status, and is a flawed and naïve but ultimately powerful figure ("I am Duchess of Malfi still"). Bosola is arguably as much the protagonist as she is and goes through interesting character development that isn't (quite) as straight forward as it might seem.
The language of this play is second only to Shakespeare (very high praise indeed). It is, other than the occasional narm, beautifully realised, employing various complex techniques and dripping with allegory and ambiguity.
The specific production I watched (the 2014 Globe production, via the BBC) was mostly brilliantly realised. Natural lighting, including total darkness at one point, compliment this dark tale greatly. Gemma Arterton is fantastic in the title role, bringing wit, warmth and power. Sean Gilder is both likeable and dislikeable as Bosola (which very much compliments the character), James Garnon plays the duplicitous Cardinal with delicious villainy, and Denise Gough makes the most of her minor role as Julia, the Cardinal's mistress. However, most impressive has to be David Dawson as a scene-stealing Ferdinand, creating a simultaneously sinister, pathetic, hateable and sympathetic villain. Other than a few scenes of added narm (like the Duchess and her husband Antonio singing like Disney characters at one point), this production is an enjoyable experience that does John Webster's work justice.
Overall, The Duchess of Malfi is a surreal but brilliant drama with a great plot, brilliant language and interesting characters. The 2014 Globe production does it justice and, if you can access it, I would definitely recommend a watch.
Theatre Bloody Weird (pun intended)
The Duchess of Malfi, one of the best non-Shakespeare plays of the Jacobean era, is... strange.
It follows (a loosely historical) account of the second marriage of the titular Duchess, the machinations of her brothers -one a corrupt cardinal and the other, Ferdinand, an incestuous werewolf- who try to stop her remarrying, and the man used by them to spy on the Duchess, Bosola, who becomes increasingly disillusioned with their cause.
This play... has a lot of narm. Some of it, I believe, is somewhat intentional. A lot of these characters (the brothers especially), are meant to be pathetic, and I won't spoil the ending but it is very much a culmination of the pathetic nature of many of the characters. There are also some plot points and character decisions that are... strange. However, all of the unintentional narm falls under narm charm and makes those weaker parts of the play... quite endearing.
Make no mistake however, the majority of this play follows a macabre and gripping plot of love, hatred, regret, control and power. Some of it has aged badly (as is to be expected), but the entire moral of the story seems to be pure Values Resonance; we sympathise with the plight of the Duchess, who remarries for love and not status, and is a flawed and naïve but ultimately powerful figure ("I am Duchess of Malfi still"). Bosola is arguably as much the protagonist as she is and goes through interesting character development that isn't (quite) as straight forward as it might seem.
The language of this play is second only to Shakespeare (very high praise indeed). It is, other than the occasional narm, beautifully realised, employing various complex techniques and dripping with allegory and ambiguity.
The specific production I watched (the 2014 Globe production, via the BBC) was mostly brilliantly realised. Natural lighting, including total darkness at one point, compliment this dark tale greatly. Gemma Arterton is fantastic in the title role, bringing wit, warmth and power. Sean Gilder is both likeable and dislikeable as Bosola (which very much compliments the character), James Garnon plays the duplicitous Cardinal with delicious villainy, and Denise Gough makes the most of her minor role as Julia, the Cardinal's mistress. However, most impressive has to be David Dawson as a scene-stealing Ferdinand, creating a simultaneously sinister, pathetic, hateable and sympathetic villain. Other than a few scenes of added narm (like the Duchess and her husband Antonio singing like Disney characters at one point), this production is an enjoyable experience that does John Webster's work justice.
Overall, The Duchess of Malfi is a surreal but brilliant drama with a great plot, brilliant language and interesting characters. The 2014 Globe production does it justice and, if you can access it, I would definitely recommend a watch.