Overview
You should know: I sing at parties, I wear colourful dresses, I am headstrong, I won’t wear my hair up because you say I should, or do this because you prefer it, in fact I might do the other just to be contrary, but I am utterly and always myself.
The Duchess is a young widow. Her husband is dead, she is free. But her financial position, sexual freedom and youth mean that she's a threat; she could get to determine her own life. That is, if she isn’t stopped first.
Terrified by her sudden power and its implications, her brothers Ferdinand and The Cardinal seek to block The Duchess’s desire to remarry and to dismantle both her authority and spirit through any means necessary. The results are horrifying, with bloody vengeance from the most unexpected of sources.
The Duchess (of Malfi) premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in May 2019.