Some authors create imaginative worlds that require a considerable suspension of disbelief in order to enter. Writers of science fiction or fantasy may be the first who come to mind, but even such novelists as Dickens, with his caricature personalities and improbable coincidences, creates a place that is clearly not contiguous with our quotidian reality. Such a writer is John Webster. His unique domain is a phantasmagoria populated with wildly improbable villains and characterised by some exceptionally gruesome goings-on. This all poses no simple task for a theatrical company who attempt to seduce the audience into accepting the premises and conventions of Webster's world. However, in this version of the playwright's classic, adapter and director, Zinnie Harris, has opted not to address the issue of bringing the audience into the author's world. Instead she attempts to bring the playwright's reality into our space. The performance is cast in modern dress with odd musical interludes, and the text is rewritten to include lots of contemporary f-bombs and vulgarities, although these are also mixed with some curious similes and turns of phrase that echo Webster's original. The result of this melding is that the audience is left confused and uncertain as to where they are and as to what they are supposed to feel. Outbursts of laughter at the exaggerated villainy on stage result from the fact that it is unclear if this is a spoof or if it is actually supposed to shock. In this modern retelling, the dilemma of the Duchess, who is persecuted by her brothers for taking an unacceptable lover, simply lacks authenticity. The love affair as presented is implausible and the reaction of the brothers seems simply ludicrous. At one point, Antonio, the lover of the Duchess says he will laugh at her jokes even when they are not funny, and this unfortunately reflects the situation of the audience, unsure of what is meant to be humorous and what is not. While Jodie Whittaker and the rest of the cast struggle valiantly to find a place that does not feel like a parody of the original, they never quite manage to find it, and the performances are as confusing as the presentation. It is significant that the descriptor, "of Malfi," is put in parentheses in the title. This is a production that seems to struggle in establishing its place, trapped between worlds and between genres.
Rated: ★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Marc Brenner
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