Harris The Duchess (of Malfi)

Main
ISBN: 978-0-571-35539-6
Verlag: Faber & Faber
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 96 Seiten

You should know: I sing at parties, I wear colourful dresses, I am headstrong, I won't wear my hair up because you say I should, or do this because you prefer it, in fact I might do the other just to be contrary, but I am utterly and always myself. The Duchess is a young widow. Her husband is dead, she is free. But her financial position, sexual freedom and youth mean that she could be dangerous, she could get to determine her own life. That is if she isn't stopped first. Terrified by her sudden power and its implications, her brothers Ferdinand and The Cardinal seek to block The Duchess' desire to re-marry, repress her agency, and dismantle both her authority and spirit through any means necessary, with horrifying results and bloody vengeance from the most unexpected of sources . . . The Duchess (of Malfi) premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in May 2019

Zinnie Harris's plays include the multi-award-winning Further than the Furthest Thing (National Theatre/Tron Theatre; winner of the 1999 Peggy Ramsay Award, 2001 John Whiting Award, Edinburgh Fringe First Award), How to Hold Your Breath (Royal Court Theatre; joint winner of the Berwin Lee Award), The Wheel (National Theatre of Scotland; joint winner of the 2011 Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award), Nightingale and Chase (Royal Court Theatre), Midwinter, Solstice (both RSC), Fall (Traverse Theatre/RSC), By Many Wounds (Hampstead Theatre), the trilogy This Restless House (Citizens Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland), based on Aeschylus' Oresteia and Meet Me at Dawn (Traverse Theatre). Also, Ibsen's A Doll's House for the Donmar Warehouse, Strindberg's Miss Julie for the National Theatre of Scotland and Webster's The Duchess (of Malfi) (Royal Lyceum Theatre). Zinnie received an Arts Foundation Fellowship for playwriting, and was Writer in Residence at the RSC, 2000-2001. She is Professor of Playwriting and Screenwriting at St Andrews University, and is the Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Harris, Zinnie

Weitere Mitwirkende

Webster, John

Leseproben

ONE: THE DUCHESS

A Woman stands alone on a large stage.

She steps forward.

She looks out to the audience.

She puts her hands in front of her eyes and peers.

She starts to hum.

Someone brings her a microphone.

Woman thank you

She takes the microphone into her hand.

She takes a breath, she is about to sing.

A guitar strums a note.

She stops, she looks around.

The lights change around her. A drum gently joins in.

She starts to sing. It’s a song that feels familiar – stand nearer, breathe deeper, it’s the heat of night … talk longer, move slower, hold me tight …

She is just starting to find her confidence, to enjoy the song, when the world changes. The sides of the stage seem to close in on her.

Two men come on to the stage.

Whatever that was, it had the feeling of a dream.

Ferdinand sister

Cardinal we wish to speak to you –

She looks at them.

Duchess when did you arrive?

Cardinal you are a widow now

Duchess yes

Cardinal and a duchess, and of course royalty

Ferdinand high blood, respected

Duchess we all are

Cardinal and no doubt you’re thinking your mourning is behind you but –

Ferdinand a word of caution

Cardinal let’s not let good looks, eloquence and sweet-talking

Ferdinand turn our heads

She looks at her brothers, not sure she is following.

Duchess my head has not turned –?

Cardinal because people that dally around, we always think –

Duchess dally around?

Ferdinand marry again

Cardinal it’s like they are soiled goods, no? Their livers spotted

Ferdinand over-used

Cardinal you are a jewel of utter beauty, of course, but –

jewels actually lose their value when they’ve been bought and sold

Ferdinand yes, to pass through many hands produces a sort of tarnishing

Duchess don’t diamonds gain value that way?

Ferdinand but that means whores would be precious –

Duchess I’m not thinking about marrying again

so if that’s your worry –

Cardinal a lot of widows say that but, after a month or two, you seem changed already –

Duchess I’m exactly the same

Cardinal what we mean is, you live in comfort here, don’t you? In the court, there is a kind of honey dew, our family has status and you are attractive

Ferdinand men will come with open faces and say anything to get in your –

Cardinal watch out, dear sister! It could be poison –

Ferdinand two-faced swine are more like witches in disguise

Cardinal and yes the devil lurks beneath their skins.

Duchess this is such wise counsel –

Ferdinand oh sarcasm, yes, very witty

Cardinal and you can throw us off but in the end

everything you do, even your most private thoughts

Ferdinand some weddings are said to be executed rather than celebrated

Cardinal the marriage night an entrance to some prison

Ferdinand and will the pleasure

Cardinal the carnal pleasure

Ferdinand seem so sweet after the domestic dungeon has shut its doors?

The Duchess looks at them.

She puts her tea down.

She looks at them again.

She laughs a bit.

Ferdinand what are you doing?

She laughs a bit more.

Cardinal stop that. She laughs harder.

Duchess I’m sorry it is just –

She carries on laughing. Then she really laughs.

Ferdinand you’re an insult, you know that

She continues to laugh.

Cardinal oh please just stop it.

She stops it.

She picks up a teacup and laughs even more into it.

Ferdinand I told you she’d be like this

Cardinal sister, you have to listen to us –

Ferdinand look we brought you something

Cardinal we know officially you no longer need to wear black

but we thought –

They show her the dress. Grey and drab.

She looks at it.

She laughs even harder.

can you stop her?

Ferdinand can you suggest how?

She laughs again.

They put the dress down.

The Cardinal catches her by the hand.

Cardinal sister, please, you are the closest thing we have. And we are worried.

Duchess don’t be worried

Cardinal we used to feel we knew you

Duchess I was a mouse

Ferdinand you were who you had always been

Duchess in a cage

Cardinal we were in Naples, they’d heard of you there

Ferdinand in the square, sitting, we heard these men talking

Duchess good

Cardinal how can you say that, they knew we were nearby and still they were going on –

Duchess I’m not afraid of people talking about me

Ferdinand you don’t want to know what they were saying?

Duchess was it nice things?

...