The Duchess of Malfi
I promised an update on reading The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster and, I think, a report on the production of it that I saw at the weekend. Being precious about needing time to think and write about it made it seem likely that nothing would ever appear, so instead, here is a quickly composed review of my theatre trip last Saturday.
We arrived at Oxford Playhouse to find the place crammed and the average age of theatregoers significantly lower than I'd normally expect. There weren't many pearls and alligator handbags; instead the audience were sporting the healthy, preppy, middle-class for evening look.
I'd forgotten that this play was a student production (Apricot Productions) and I was slightly apprehensive. I needn't have been so worried - it was a captivating performance, replete with energy and sympathy, though marred by a lack of sophistication when it came to the final act. Sian Robins-Grace stood head and shoulders above the rest of the cast with her portrayal of a warm, vivacious, seductive Duchess, and Tom Wilkinson as her husband, Antonio, was thoroughly convincing, though it is the character of Bosola, played admirably by Owen Findlay, who is the locus for most of the dramatic tension within the plot. Molly Davies, as Cariola, was capably sweet-natured, yet managed to pull off a death scene that was both terrifying and affecting (in short: it brought me to tears). The rest of the cast were a mixed blessing: actors playing Julia, Ferdinand, the Cardinal and Delio failed to engage me. Unfortunately, the final scenes of the play hang upon this collection of characters, and they did not manage to carry off the blood bath at the end of the play with anything resembling the gravity of the Duchess and Cariola's demise.
All in all, it was a great opportunity to revisit a play I haven't read for nearly a decade (!), and it was exciting to see such an accomplished performance from Robins-Grace. And I came out vowing to see more theatre over the next year, which is a sure testament to the quality of the production.
Becca
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