Annie Ryan directs this reimagining of John Webster’s tale of deceit and madness set in a world in which lust and desire are closely entwined. It runs at the indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe until 16 April 2017. What have critics been saying about it?
The Guardian: ★★★★ “a production that does full justice to Webster’s sinewy, aphoristic language and moral equivocation and that suggests we are immersed in a crepuscular nightmare.”
Broadway World: ★★★★ “This version of The White Devil is unexpected, rich in parody and beautifully acted. A treat for the eyes and ears.”
The Independent: ★★★★ “Ryan’s vivid cast always make the verse sound bounding and spontaneous.”
Time Out: ★★★ “a wild, funny, slightly sexy ride, a world of self-absorbed adults getting catastrophically in touch with their ids.”
The Telegraph: ★★★ “you never lose the suspicion that Ryan is much more interested in the play’s mad, freewheeling surface energy than in its period particularity.”
The Stage: ★★★★ “by turns cold and controlled, explosive and exhilarating”
The Upcoming: ★★★★★ “This is a show that values its original source material; rather than being edgy it looks to tease out relevance from the original text.”
British Theatre Guide: “This is a play littered with the dead and maimed bodies of women but what we get never allows us to appreciate Webster’s depiction of the dangerous cruelty of those in power.”
Culture Whisper: ★★★ “Animated performances from the charming, devilish Joseph Timms as Flamineo and a compelling Kate Stanley-Brannan as Vittoria help skim through confusing motivations and moments of weighty dialogue to emphasise the satirical clout.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ★★★★ “The body count would do Quentin Tarentino proud, but the escalating horrors occur against a plausible backdrop of shadowy lighting and a superb soundscape.”
Theatre Cat: ★★★ “Annie Ryan’s direction goes hell-for-leather with the shouting and murdering, sometimes at the expense of the more memorable lines.”
