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The Duchess of Malfi
- Tour.
Playwright - John Webster.
Director - Phyllida Lloyd.
Designer - Mark Thompson.
Costume Designer -D .
Lighting Designer - Mark Henderson.
Music - Gary Yershon .
Director of Movement Michael Keegan-Dolan
Fight Director - Terry King
Sound Designer - Simon Baker
Company Voice Work - Patsy Rodenburg
Company - National Theatre
Company, The South Bank London.
Cast - here .
Venue - King's Theatre Leven
St
Box Office - 0131 529 6000 and New Secure 72 hr email booking + info
available at www.eft.co.uk
Dates
- 1 - 5 April
at 7:30pm Mats Wed & Sat at 2:30pm.
Run Time - 2hours 20mins no Interval .
Reviewer - Ksenija Horvat.
Dynamic production, yet fundamentally flawed.
The Duchess Of Malfi - National Theatre Production.
Charles Edward as Antonio and Janet McTeer as The
Duchess
© photographer 2003
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This, in technical terms, seamlessly executed production had your truly
crying for more in the first hour. Starting as a live talk show in which
Delio interviews the main protagonists, as the others watch from their
background seats, Phyllida Lloyd places firmly Webster's dark world into
a belligerent arena of television media where dog eats dog. As protagonists
are paraded across the stage, the themes of politics (and in particular
gender politics), greed, sex, incest and power begin to take shape promising
that this National Theatre's production will turn into a real treat for
all the senses.
The strong cast ensures that this promise is brought to fruition throughout
most of the play, and it is in the compelling interplay between individual
cast members that the appeal of this production lies. In particular, Janet
McTeer's passionate portrayal of tragic Duchess. McTeer's stage
presence is captivating, and her Duchess is a nail-biting mixture of authority
and vulnerability without every losing its feminine allure. She is well
met by Charles Edwards' gentle Antonio, and Sally Rogers'
long-suffering faithful Cariola.
Lorcan Cranitch gives a powerful (if a bit loud on occasions) performance
as Bosola, Ray Stevenson is suitably sleazy in the role of the
Cardinal, while Will Keen creates yet another gem of a role as
fatally unhinged Ferdinand, the Duchess's twin brother. Eleanor David's
Julia is a beautiful, if powerless, temptress, and the rest of the cast
excels in the supporting roles, particularly children actors who patiently
plough through the two-hour-and-twenty minutes performance without an
interval. What was that no children or animals nonsense about?
All this sounds like a dream come true, a production without a glitch,
a true 21st century Jacobean tragedy. And as yours truly has already pointed
out, it is all these things. Up to a point. Clever stage design (Mark
Thompson), sinister atmospheric lighting (Mark Henderson), poignant musical
scores (Gary Yershon), and excellent choreography (Terry King) all aid
to the overall effect, as does a clever use of a projector (initial characterisation,
and the Duchess's inner torment have been transported onto a screen).
The audience's every sense is saturated with powerful images that strike
to a very core of Webster's play.
But as much as this is a dynamic and entertaining production, it is also
fundamentally flawed. After an initial promise that Webster's disturbing
world will be given a necessary and long overdue modern makeover, Lloyd
seems to abandon this inspired idea and lets her cast play it straight.
Caught between the rock and the hard place, they do their best to present
to their audiences an extremely complex plot, which, after a while, can
become a bit overbearing.
The themes of greed and incest (crucial to the original text) remain underplayed.
Webster's prickly social commentary and his compassion for even the most
morally corrupt characters are diluted. What begins as a promise of a
drastically different artistic vision ends up with a whimper. After all
is said and done, there is no empathy left for any of the characters.
Still, a seed of something new has been sown here, a rudiment of a possibility
that in the future an alternative approach may be taken towards classical
works. Breaking with canon is not a novel idea, and on this occasion it
has not been pushed far enough. But, nevertheless, it is offered here,
for the scrutiny and ruling of the guid Edinburgh audience.
© Ksenija Horvat 1 April 2003. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Cast:Will Keen, Charles Edwards, Stuart Richman,
Jonathan Slinger, Lorcan Cranitch, Ray Stevenson, Janet McTeer, Sally
Rogers, James Howard, Andrew Westfield, Michael Bernardin, Keiran Flynn,
Eleanor David, Julien Ball, Martin Chamberlain, Abigail Arcari, Clemmie
Hooton, Padraig Goodall, Matthew Thomas-Davies, Margaret Hilder, Eliza
Lumley, Penelope McGhie.
Live Musicians - David Berry (double bass), Andy Callard (trumpet),
Peter Shade (flute/keyboard).
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