The Duchess of Malfi

John Webster’s classic Jacobean tragedy has been invigorated by Eyestrings Theatre Co. The play has everything you would want; bubbling sexual tension, political power struggle and the lust for it, murder, paranoia and all because our protagonist marries a member of the lower classes. But in the bubble of a Royal Court, these things have a habit of spinning out of control. Visually the piece is stunning; its bareness allows the piece to breathe. The tableaus compliment the text; the ever-present dimly lit bulbs hang like vultures precipitating the inevitable. Vibrant and enthralling, chilling yet erotically charged throughout. Superb.

Connaught Theatre, Worthing, 5 October 2013
Rating:
Lee Stevens