The Duchess of Malfi at Stratford

This thesis offers a descriptive and analytic study of the productions of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi created by the Royal Shakespeare Company (formerly named the Stratford-on-Avon Company) in 1960, 1971 and 1989. Each of the three productions is separately considered in terms of its theatrical realization. Discussion derives from the evidence of prompt-books, production records and contemporary reviews. In Introduction I refer to the stage history of The Duchess of Malfi and discuss what aspects in the play has been considered problematic in performance. In Conclusion I summarize how each director of the RSC productions has attempted to solve the problems in his production. Appendices contains accounts of the performed texts; cast lists with details of production personnel; list of the plays produced in each respective season; and my interview with Bill Alexander, director of the 1989 production