31/10/24 Matinee Performance
TW - strong language, incestual themes and sexual violence
Ever the contentious talking point in modern discourse, Zinnie Harris' bold reimagining of one of the greatest works of Jacobean theatre tackles fragile and violent masculinity, with its resultant effect on women being fatal. This is Jodie Whittaker's highly-anticipated return to the stage after 12 years, and she certainly does not disappoint - her fiery and strong-willed Duchess is thrilling to watch. Regrettably, however, the feminist message is often applied heavy-handedly and is a far less groundbreaking insight than promised.
That is not to say the play is without its successes, however. The first act is slick and highly stylised, balancing humour and tragedy effectively. Most of the laughs come from the Cardinal (Paul Ready), the foul-mouthed, over-sexed brother of the Duchess, whose wry comedy pushes the boundary of how far the audience is willing to forgive this threatening yet charismatic character. I was personally more familiar with Ready from AMC's the Terror (as Dr. Goodsir, the moral compass of a lost arctic expedition) and the BBC's Motherland (as the loveable, beta-male father Kevin) - his highly commendable transformation came as a shock, when from his dog-collared throat sprung the line 'do you fancy sucking my c----?'. The matinee audience clutched their pearls. Rory Fleck Byrne also gives a convincing turn as Ferdinand, the Duchess' twin brother, whose desire to control his sister bleeds into the incestual and drives him to madness, an uncomfortable theme that the modernisation chooses to uphold. It is these two characters who seem to have the most focus thrown on them as enforcers of patriarchal control, desperate to protect their egos. Despite being transported to modern times, I couldn't help but feel the two stock villains were left in 17th century, too archetypally evil to make effective comment on the more insidious and subtle brand of patriarchy that operates today. This left me wondering what is achieved in placing the production in the modern era?
Lighting designed by Ben Ormerod is another stand-out success of this production, with the choice to light the tonally darkest scenes in asylum-white lighting, forcing the audience to view tragedy in full light. This forcefulness can be overdone at points, though - the torture scenes of Act Two are unnervingly Artaudian, accompanied with loud buzzing and flashing images of a faux-beheading (an immediate assault on the senses for those who have just finished eating ice cream in the interval). Obviously there is an intention to shock, but the whiplash change of tone from Act One noticeably left some of the audience behind.
The women of the story are given voice through song - though very well-performed these two or three instances once again felt tonally strange. Later ghostly apparitions of the female victims whispering 'murder' borders on GCSE drama, an unsubtle handling of ideas about female agency and reclamation of power. With some muddling, Harris finds her feminist message by the end, as the ghostly Duchess instructs Bosola to 'change it'. It is the responsibility of men to fix the broken, violent system. But where does that leave women? As perpetual victims, this production seems to suggest.
The Duchess of Malfi is on at the Trafalgar Theatre, London until 20th December.
0 Comments