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24 March

And so it's onto the next artistic event of the year.

Over at the Lowry, I caught my first piece of classical theatre of the year with a performance by the National Theatre on tour of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. It's a play that I heard lots about when I was a student but have never had a close chance to see until now.

I can understand why it is loved for the richness of its language and why it has been detested at certain periods of history because of the goriness of the blood-letting. I can see that the large cast make it difficult for most professional theatres to consider productions in these straightened times. But I can't pretend that I am persuaded to take the piece to my heart and hold it dear.

I think that the evening was hamstrung by a production that, whilst it projected the thread of narrative and allowed the text to come through clearly, denied any social motivation for the plot by moving the action to an unspecific present day location. Yes, the refugee status and flight from tyranny and fear of torture have currency. But if we aren't also in a believable society where women are not permitted to marry without the consent of their families and where the religious authorities wield real temporal as well as spiritual power, then the behaviour of the characters doesn't make sense. I'd like to know what present day Iraqies would make of it all.

The cast worked hard and did the director credit. Janet McTeer as the Duchess and Charles Edwards as Antonio were believable lovers. Lorcan Cranitch was believable as a cold hearted assassin and as a courtier caught between two factions - but not as both, which is what Bosola is. Ray Stevenson's Cardinal was properly creepy and, as the other brother, Ferdinand, Will Keen was completely psychotic. But, as I've said, all of these characters existed in a vacuum. There were supernuminaries on stage but they gave little support to the principles. We should know that Bosola and Ferdinand are very dangerous because of the way that others on stage treat them. this was not apparent.

The presentation was also let down by technology, in the form of projected videos, which did not function properly. I suppose the whole expereince was OK but I can't summon up more that two stars' worth of enthusiasm about it.