Menier Chocolate Factory
Directed by Jonathan Munby
Reviewed by John Garfield-Roberts
There seems to be a revival of Jacobean theatre at the moment, with productions of Revenger's Tragedy being performed up and down the country but it is the Meniers new production of Webster's lesser performed production The White Devil that really caught my attention.
Written in 1612 and loosely based on the murder of Vittoria in Padua just 30 years ealrlier. Websters production focus's on the adulterous affair of Bracciano (Darrell D'Silva) and Vittoria (Claire Price)during a time when Italy was corrupt and nobody seemed to be who they really were, and individuals were left to fight against the corrupt nature of the Church and State.
Performed in traverse in the Meniers studio Philip Witcomb's excellent and beautifully detailed hallway set, brought the audience into the middle of this violent and bloody play and with Munbys excellent direction the play flows as easily as the blood pouring from many of the blood packs used in this gory production. The death scene of Isabella (Claire Cox)and the other haunting visions were stronger and more theatrical than any similar effects that the big commercial west end productions could throw money at. Although an excellent production the second
half lacked the pace, and detail of direction that the sublime first half gave us, the actors were tired and in the performance I saw, cast were tripping over lines and even at times themselves.Putting the bad points aside there were some excellent performances, D'Silva's performance as the Duke Bracciano was strong and at time incredibly fierce and his manic laughter will be sure to haunt for weeks to come, but two performances really stand out the first is Claire Price as Vittoria who nails a splendid and reasoned performance of Vittoria which makes the other female performers appear less experienced and their characters rather one dimensional. The second is Aidan McArdles often comic yet devious Flamineo who brings so much energy to the stage that you just cannot take your eyes away from him, a real show stealing performance worthy of any Theatrical accolade or award.
This is a bold move by the Menier to move away from what it has become known for and this risk is well worth it! A complete surprise and one I would highly recommend.
Photos by Manuel Harlan
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