Often regarded as one of the last great tragedies of the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, The Duchess of Malfi is John Webster’s defining masterpiece. Set in the 1500s in Malfi, Italy, and based on a true story, it speaks of the undying love a spirited Duchess has for her steward. Married in secret at a time when women’s lives were politicised and controlled by men, this four-century-old classic still powerfully resonates today as we watch women fight around the world for agency and the right to make choices about their own bodies that aren’t curated by men.
The Duchess of Malfi begins, as all great tales do, as a love story. A recently widowed young woman now determined to set her own agenda, she chooses her new partner on her own terms – ignoring the demands of two puritanical brothers and the expectations of an unyielding patriarchy. But, in the end, her brothers enact their revenge and what started with hope and love rots into a nightmarish tragedy.
Tickets:
Adult / general $44
Senior $35
Student / concession $35