Duchess (of Malfi)

Returning to the stage for the first time in over a decade, Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) takes on the role of a lifetime in Zinnie Harris’ acclaimed contemporary adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi, playing at the Trafalgar Theatre for 11 weeks only.

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?

Directed and adapted by award-winning Zinnie Harris (Macbeth (an undoing)), this “towering adaptation” (The Stage) of John Webster’s thrilling drama The Duchess of Malfi explores the depths of the patriarchy against female resistance.

Whittaker leads an all-star cast in this exhilarating production and is joined by Joel Fry, Rory Fleck Byrne, Jude Owusu, Paul Ready, Elizabeth Ayodele, Hubert Burton, Matti Houghton, Hannah Visocchi, Kerill Kelly, Greg Snowden, Amy Vicary-Smith.

The play contains strong language, themes of violence against women and children, scenes that depict sexual assault and the use of stage blood and weapons.