The Duchess of Malfi, Swan Theatre, Stratford - review

Before the second half begins, patrons in the first row are givenprotective blankets. That's because this is the bloodiest play ever staged at the Swan, with 40 litres of fake gore used in each performance.

By the end of the show the cast in John Webster's 1614 shocker are slipping and sliding in the stuff and, because the blood is hideously overdone and splashing everywhere, there is some laughter in the wrong places.

Director Maria Aberg attempts to bring this tale of mismatched love, arrogance and fraternal revenge into the 21st century with modern dress and an industrialised set looking like a cross between a gym and a paint-spraying shed.

The aggressive males, including Burntwood actor Graeme Brookes in his RSC debut, strut their stuff to some pounding techno music but the strong, feisty Duchess ( Joan Iyiola) puts up her fists and fears none of them.

Iyiola is terrific throughout. She speaks beautifully and is in total command whether the mood is joy or anguish. But it's a hard play to give a modernist, feminist spin. For all her bravery, the Duchess and her children are murdered by men. And how is a 2018 audience supposed to relate to the mediaeval concepts of blood, status and honour which drive this violent tale?

There is some great music, including a cool version of the Nina Simone hit, I Put a Spell on You and the grisly moment when the Duchess holds what she thinks is a living hand, only to discover it is a severed limb, works brilliantly on a pitch-black stage.

But it's not a first-class production and I was distracted throughout by what looked like a gigantic oven-ready bird dragged on stage in the opening scene which bled profusely later on, adding to the general goriness. I am not sure what it was supposed to represent but it looked like a huge turkey. An unfortunate prop.

The Duchess of Malfi is at Stratford until August 3.