CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
The Duchess of Malfi


"Stay" quoth Reputation, "Do not forsake me; for it is my nature, If once I part from any man I meet, I am never found again." — Ferdinand
The Duchess of Malfi
A view of the Sam Wanamaker playhouse (Photo: Pete Le May)
Opening London's newest yet oldest theatre, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the indoor Jacobean theatre at Shakespeare's Globe is John Webster's 1613 Jacobean tragedy of murder, sex and implied incestuous thoughts, The Duchess of Malfi. The indoor theatre of 340 seats has been cleverly constructed within the foyer space at the Globe. It is the prettiest little theatre, lit mostly by beeswax candles hung on candelabra that can be raised and lowered or extinguished to recreate night time scenes. On the ceiling are stars and paintings of ornate sun, moon and clouds with angels and cherubim. A gallery houses the musicians and doubles as a playing area. The frame is English oak and the seats have some modest cushioning but where I was sitting the leg room was not generous.

Drawings were found at Worcester College Oxford in the late 1960s of an early theatre at first thought to be by England's first classical architect, Inigo Jones, but later attributed to his pupil John Webb (1611 - 1672). It is on these drawings that the Wanamaker Playhouse has been based. It is named for Sam Wanamaker the American actor who put so much time, effort and money into establishing a reproduction Shakespearean theatre on London's South Bank close to the site of the original Rose Theatre.

Gemma Arterton's duchess is as pretty as a picture of an innocent and Antonio (Alex Waldmann) her lover — later her second husband, who also happens to be her servant, her steward—, are naive players in a grown up world of power seeking and corruption. Sean Gilder as the spy Bosola is clearly a man of the world as he contrives to trap the duchess with the apricot scam to expose her pregnancy.

The duchess's two brothers are sinister and evil, strong players who use their sister as a political pawn. James Garnon, a veteran of Globe acting is magnificent as the ironic and cruel Cardinal, a prelate with mistresses and vice. David Dawson is unhinged as the duchess's twin brother Duke Ferdinand with great rushes of near madness and malevolent eccentricity, his voice louder than is necessary in this tiny space. Dawson is pale faced, and his legs spindly, his complexion contrasting with Busola's weather beaten features. There are undoubted allusions to incest in his meetings with his sister. It is hard to fathom how the duchess escaped the evil genes in her family.

The costumes are beautiful and authentic with lacy ruffs and farthingale skirts. The production, like the venue, is very new and the performances may have to bed in for the play to be truly chilling rather than inducing nervous laughter but the setting is so charming as to make this a winning venue.

Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe, E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.
The Duchess of Malfi
by John Webster
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole

Starring: Gemma Arterton, Giles Cooper, David Dawson, James Garnon, Sean Gilder, Alex Waldmann, Denise Gough
With: John Dougall, Sarah MacRae, Brendan O'Hea, Paul Rider, Dickon Tyrrell, Archir Bradfield/George Morris
Design: Jonathan Fensom
Choreography by Sian Williams
Composer: Claire van Kampen
Running time: Two hours 50 minutes including one interval
Box Office: 020 7401 9919
Booking to 16th February 2014
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 16th January 2014 performance at The Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare's Globe, New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT (Rail/Tube: London Bridge)

REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of The Duchess of Malfi
  • I disagree with the review of The Duchess of Malfi
  • The review made me eager to see The Duchess of Malfi
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2014, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com