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- Duchess of Malfi: Deconstructing the play
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Does the Duchess of Malfi have any resonance with modern-day audiences? Are it’s themes of politics and revenge still relevant today? Since it was originally published in the seventeenth century the play has been interpreted in a variety of ways, each different director examining the story and realising a unique translation of the work. In 2010 the Greenwich Theatre performed The Duchess of Malfi and in this collection we follow the cast and crew as they analyse the language used by John Webster, as well as exploring different ways of understanding the text and converting his words into a performance.
This material forms part of The Open University course A230 Reading and studying literature.
By: The OpenLearn team (The Open University,)
- Duration 30 mins
- Updated Wednesday 5th October 2011
- Posted under History & The Arts
Track 1: The Duchess of Malfi
A brief introduction to the play.
© The Open University 2011
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Tracks in this podcast:
Track | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | The Duchess of Malfi | A brief introduction to the play. Play now The Duchess of Malfi |
2 | Understanding Webster’s text | The cast discuss examine what the language means and why Webster chose to use those particular words. Play now Understanding Webster’s text |
3 | Interpreting Webster’s text for the stage | An exploration of the different ways the text can be deciphered and translated for performance. Play now Interpreting Webster’s text for the stage |
4 | Anatomy of a scene | During a workshop day the actors are given the opportunity to work on different interpretations of a scene. Play now Anatomy of a scene |
5 | Bosolo | During the course of the play the importance of Bosolo’s character increases. Play now Bosolo |
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Publication details
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Originally published: Wednesday, 5th October 2011
Copyright information
- Body text - Content : Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2011
- Image 'Duchess of Malfi: Deconstructing the play' - Copyright: The Open University 2011
- Image 'John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi' - Copyright: Used with permission
- Image 'Cartoon of Hamlet and Julius Caesar on stage ' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Hamlet (David Tennant), watched by Osric (Ryan Gage) listens to Claudius (Patrick Stewart) as he prepares to fight Laertes (Edward Bennett) ' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'David Tennant as Hamlet' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Illustration depicting the philosophy of beauty' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Matt Smith the Doctor' - Doctor Who Spoilers under CC-BY licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Painting by François Dubois, depicting the St Bartholemew's day massacre' - Copyright free: Public domain
- Image 'cat dressed up as the devil' - Geckoam under CC-BY-NC-ND licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Early modern Europe: an introduction' - Copyright: Aldo Crespi Collection/Bridgeman Images
- Image 'A stack of poetry books.' - Sarah Browning under CC-BY-NC-2.0 licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Hildegard von Bingen image' - Copyright free: Public Domain
- Image 'Nur Jahan image' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Shakespeare's birthplace' - David Iliff [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'charlotte maxeke potrait' - Copyright free: Public domain
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Publication details
-
Originally published: Wednesday, 5th October 2011
Copyright information
- Body text - Content: Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2011
- Image 'Duchess of Malfi: Deconstructing the play' - Copyright: The Open University 2011
- Image 'John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi' - Copyright: Used with permission
- Image 'Cartoon of Hamlet and Julius Caesar on stage ' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Hamlet (David Tennant), watched by Osric (Ryan Gage) listens to Claudius (Patrick Stewart) as he prepares to fight Laertes (Edward Bennett) ' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'David Tennant as Hamlet' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Illustration depicting the philosophy of beauty' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Matt Smith the Doctor' - Doctor Who Spoilers under CC-BY licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Painting by François Dubois, depicting the St Bartholemew's day massacre' - Copyright free: Public domain
- Image 'cat dressed up as the devil' - Geckoam under CC-BY-NC-ND licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Early modern Europe: an introduction' - Copyright: Aldo Crespi Collection/Bridgeman Images
- Image 'A stack of poetry books.' - Sarah Browning under CC-BY-NC-2.0 licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Hildegard von Bingen image' - Copyright free: Public Domain
- Image 'Nur Jahan image' - Copyright: BBC
- Image 'Shakespeare's birthplace' - David Iliff [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'charlotte maxeke potrait' - Copyright free: Public domain
- Image 'Introducing Homer's Iliad' - Copyright: Photograph © The State Hermitage Museum. Photo by Vladimir Terebenin.
- Image 'A sign post way marker along the Laurie Lee walk, Slad valley, with words from Moss-Rose on a transparent plaque with countryside behind it' - Alun Ward [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0], via Flickr Creative Commons under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Madame CJ Walker image' - Copyright free: Public Domain
- Image 'Christine de Pizan image' - Copyright free: Public Domain
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