Studying ‘The Duchess of Malfi’.
Studying Webster’s ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ for A Level, Banu Ali, Priory 6, reports on the recent visit of English Literature students to see a production by the RSC in Stratford.
‘On Friday 15th June, the Lower VI English Literature students went to Stratford-upon-Avon to see an absolutely breath-taking production of John Webster’s infamous ‘The Duchess of Malfi’. And, of course, as we were in Stratford, we visited the birth place of the great Bard himself.
First on our itinerary was Shakespeare’s birthplace. We saw originals of Shakespeare’s plays, possessions and also the deeds and documents of his father. Seeing Shakespeare’s house was an amazing experience. Everything was as it would have been – even a room that contained real animal skins! There were ladies dressed up as if they were housemaids in different rooms who gave us a talk about the room’s use and small stories and anecdotes about Shakespeare’s life and Stratford during his time.
Outside Shakespeare’s birthplace we were treated with amazing short performances from RSC actors who acted out soliloquies and scenes from a variety of pieces including Macbeth – which reminded us all of our GCSE days (a traumatic time). Much to our delight, we were even wooed by a song performed by “Romeo”, after which we took photos with the cast. Eventually we had to leave, and never was parting such sweet sorrow.
Starving, we all went to Café Rouge for a meal together before going to the RSC-run Swan Theatre to watch ‘The Duchess of Malfi’. It was an exhilarating performance- Joan Iyiola, who played the Duchess, is definitely an actress to watch! The performance was very gory with some of us who sat right next to the stage being provided with blankets to shield ourselves from the blood that was being sprayed and splashed everywhere. Once the lights came back on, we all sat there. Speechless.
We would like to thank Mrs Eaton, Mrs King and Mrs Knowles for taking us on such an enjoyable and memorable trip!’
Categories: Sixth Form Whole School
