The White Devil RSC by John Webster Review Stratford-upon-Avon Theatre Review

Maria Aberg is one of the stars of the current Royal Shakespeare Company, her 'As You Like It' and 'King John' were models of sharp intelligence and clarity of story telling. Her new production of John Webster's The White Devil will, I am sure, divide opinion. More conventionally set within the sombre constraints of 16th century Italy, the setting is moved to the contemporary floating world of celebrity culture, with David Maclean and Tommy Grace of Django Django providing a throbbing audio backdrop. Both halves start with Kirsty Bushell coming to the front of the stage to dress as Vittoria, in clothes that lie discarded on the stage. At first, she wears a short gold dress, long blond wig (swapped for a black one during her trial) and high-heels, later she dons a blue net tutu. The set is minimal, faintly Scandinavian, a tiled floor, a glass box with sliding doors across the width of the rear of the space and back projections that play across the wall behind the brightly lit stage.The glass box is used to show scenes as tableau, isolated from the rest of the play, we witness the brutal fall of woman, used and slaughtered under the bright white lights.
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The play revolves around Vittoria and Bracciano, whose mutual attraction, with the help of Flamineo, both sister to Vittoria and aide to Bracciano, flouts both the bonds of marriage and the interests of their powerful relations, with terrifyingly brutal consequences. We follow Vittoria through a hedonistic flurry of wild parties where her awful blond wig and teetering stilettos evoke the more formal attire of Lady Gaga. In these scenes, we see, more than feel, the rather brittle and wild Vittoria, who readily conspires with Bracciano in the deception and then the murder of their respective spouses, Camillo and Isabella. It is only when Vittoria is put on trial for the murder of her husband that we begin to see the quality of Kirsty Bushell as an actor and indeed the quality of the play itself. Branded by her judge, a Cardinal with links to her lovers brother-in-law, as a whore, even before the evidence has been examined, we begin to see the significance of the play within the Roaring Girl season. Webster allows Vittoria to mount an eloquent, if fruitless, defense against charges inspired by an inequality of justice, rooted in misogyny. Vittoria is confined to a house for penitent whores but is rescued by Bracciano and they escape to Padua, but Isabella's brother Francisco and Lodovico a wild nobleman, who is in love with Vittoria, follow disguised as military adviser and monk.

A typical revenge plot slaughters the majority of the cast, using a variety of cruel and unusual methods, devices beloved of John Webster. The dramatic use of poisoned masks and envenomed paintings brought to mind the aesthetically pleasing slaughter of the charismatic Mads Mikkelsen in NBC's Hannibal and I began to speculate on Webster's reaction to the TV series. All of which demonstrates that though there are many strong performances and a wealth of intelligent ideas in this staging, there were moments, in this preview, where the pace slackened.

Those worried by RSC emails warning of violent content, will find little to terrify them, though the murders are bloody and violent enough. The death of Isabella, the victim of a poisoned painting of her husband, is both moving and bloody, death by Mexican wrestling mask is bloody, but less affecting and Lodovic slitting his own throat is certainly graphic and realistic.

Maria Aberg has spoken eloquently about cross-gender casting and The White Devil sees Laura Elphinstone play the Iago-like character of Flamineo. It is a fine performance and the corruption of a woman by one of her own sex, in order to prosper in a patriarchal society, allows for fresh interpretations of the text. One slight caveat is the costume, which so closely resembles the appearance of Pippa Nixon in King John that the character seems to span the two productions.

This is a particularly capable ensemble cast, exemplified by Kirsty Bushell who grows from cypher to tragic heroine as the play reaches its dark conclusion. Faye Castelow is very effective as the ill-used Isabella, particularly in her brutal murder scene and in her return as a bloodied ghost. David Sturzaker is well cast as the amoral Bracciano, a willing conspirator in the horrific death of an innocent wife, although his own death is somewhat bizarre, but no less surprising than that of Keir Charles as Camillo who dies while engaging in bondage with a number of women dressed in identical white cat suits, wrapped in red ribbons. Equally unusual was the appearance of Bracciano's young son at the end of the play, who has inherited title and wealth and dressed in a dark suit, pokes at Vittoria's corpse with his foot.

In conclusion, I would recommend you see this innovative production and I hope the RSC continue to take risks, producing fresh interpretations of well-known texts. However, I still regard The Duchess of Malfi as Webster's masterpiece and the recent production at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse demonstrated that a traditional approach can still engage, provoke and inspire a modern audience. The rigid constraints of the costume and the more credible intervention of church and society in a world of glistering candlelight and dark shadow, proved both modern and traditional approaches can be equally relevant. I have already booked to see The White Devil later in the run and I am sure that I will discover new intricacies in this fascinating production, on second viewing.

Joseph Arkley - Ludovico
Peter Bray - Marcello
Elspeth Brodie - Company
Kirsty Bushell - Vittoria
Colin Anthony Brown - Ambassador
Faye Castelow - Isabella
Keir Charles - Camillo
Liz Crowther - Cornelia
Laura Elphinstone - Flamineo
Lizzie Hopley - Hortensio
Joan Iyiola - Zanche
Tony Jayawardena - Ambassador
Michael Moreland - Company
Ken Nwosu - Carlo
Tom Padley - Antonelli
David Rintoul - Cardinal Monticelso
Simon Scardifield - Francisco
Jay Simpson - Gasparo
David Sturzaker - Bracciano
Harvey Virdi - Matron
Director - Maria Aberg
Designer - Naomi Dawson
Lighting - James Farncombe
Sound - Tom Gibbons
Music - David Maclean and Tommy Grace
Video design - Nathan Parker
Movement - Ayse Tashkiran
Fights - Malcolm Ranson