Drama: The Duchess of Malfi

Duchess of Malfi thumb

Programme

Additional Material

Performances

May 18 to 21, 2005 in the Tojo theatre in the Reithalle Bern.

The Play

According to T.S. Eliot, John Webster "was much possessed by death/And saw the skull beneath the skin". Indeed, judging from The Duchess of Malfi, Webster did have a deeply morbid streak, and while the death count of his plays isn't necessarily any higher than that of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (which has been described, not too inaccurately, as an Elizabethan splatterfest) or indeed Hamlet, the deaths are different. They are less tragically cathartic. They are more pointless in the larger scheme of things. And this pointlessness is perhaps what makes Webster's play so bleak and opens it to accusations of nihilism.

However, this bleakness is counteracted by an anarchic, devilish wit - at times the proceedings on stage have the energy and absurdity of black comedy. Even more, The Duchess would lose its tragic potential if there wasn't genuine love and affection at its centre, in its title character's relationship with her steward Antonio. When the cogs of the tragedy's machinery begin to crush its dramatis personae, we know that something is indeed at stake here.

Webster's play is bleak, but it is not cynical in the end. Despairing, perhaps. Darkly amused with the absurdity of its protagonists' misguided passions. But it is the genuine emotion that gives The Duchess of Malfi its human core. We hope that you will find all of these contradictory aspects in our production.

The Crew

The Cast

Special thanks go to

Sylvie, Michael and Kuno from the Tojo; Ueli Beyeler and Kurt Gilgen from Fabrikstrasse 2; Arthur Wyss; Franz Andres Morrissey; Markus Isch; Stauffacher bookshop and the presales personnel; the staff and students of the English Department; and, last but not least, the English Department Arts Council for its ongoing support