Where and when?
This powerful adaptation of John Webster’s classic opens for a strictly limited 11-week season at the Trafalgar Theatre from 5 October – 20 December.
Who’s in the cast?
Acclaimed actor and Motherland star Paul Ready is set to take on the pivotal role of The Cardinal, a character infamous for his cold and calculating nature. Returning to the stage for the first time in over a decade, Jodie Whittaker takes on the role of a lifetime in this tale of loss, lust and legacy. She is joined by Joel Fry, Rory Fleck Byrne, Jude Owusu, Paul Ready, Elizabeth Ayodele, Hubert Burton, Matti Houghton, Hannah Visocchi, Kerill Kelly, Greg Snowden, and Amy Vicary-Smith. The children’s cast includes Baylie Agbonlahor, Christopher Azzopardi, Céleste Fraser, Flor Gandra-Lobina, Hugh Holden, Erin Jemmotte, Isaac Vasunia and Malakai Young.
Creative team
Directed and adapted by award-winning Zinnie Harris.
What’s the show about?
Recently widowed and in search for a new lease of life, the Duchess (Whittaker) defies her family’s wishes by remarrying beneath her class. However, when her brothers, driven by insurmountable greed and rage, discover her second marriage they unleash a series of cruel and devastating punishments against her that repress her power. But will their vicious atrocities come back to haunt them?
What did I think?
I went in to see this show not knowing the original story and never having seen a production before. I think that was a good thing but sadly it hasn’t made me want to see another version.
When the lights went down and a door on the stage opened, the first thing I saw was a piece of string at the top, ready to pull the door closed once Jodie Whittaker made her entrance. This set the precedent of what was to come for the rest of the show in this cheap, shoddy school-esque Jamie Lloyd inspired performance, where cast members push set pieces on and off stage, drawing curtains from one side to the other in an attempt to create effect. The money for this show certainly wasn’t spent on the set!
During the interval, someone was having a panic attack in the foyer, clearly aware of what was about to come in act 2 (that I did not). Unnecessary video depiction of children being machine gunned to death was played repeatedly, whilst characters were drowned and mutilated on stage during excruciatingly loud noises and blackouts. Everything about it was just horrible and felt like a gratuitous shock factor decision to do, rather than having any real benefit to the way the story was told.
From the set to the direction and the attempt to create gratuitous shock value, The Duchess is cheap in every way. I felt sorry for the actors (who probably didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for when they took the job) and the audience (myself included) for having to sit through it.
★
Accessible Performances
Captioned Performance – 14 Nov 2024
Audio Described – 23 Nov 2024
Where can I get tickets?
https://westendwilma.londontheatredirect.com/play/the-duchess-tickets
