I recently participated in a staged reading of the White Devil by John Webster, courtesy of Lazarus Theatre Company, and it was an absolute pleasure to tackle such a dense, knotty, twisty piece of classic theatre within a room of eager, insightful and knowledgeable creatives. The reading unfolded with a focus on the text, which allowed each thought to land, and though each actor read with script in hand, there were frequently moments where a line delivery would elicit strong

The White Devil began as a play where I found it difficult to understand the language. It took 2-3 reads before the R&D to make sense of it. I still had many questions that needed clarity. However, throughout the day, many questions were answered and the play was more entertaining than how I envisaged it. Certainly more entertaining and with elements humour than how I had read it initially - which is a positive. The play touches on very important aspects of women’s role/ life

I was really excited for the reading of John Webster’s ‘White Devil’. Having previously worked with ‘The Duchess of Malfi’, I was familiar with Websters style of politically charged writing, filled with corruption, passion and deceit and I was itching to get my teeth stuck into it! Before the workshop I deep dived into the context and themes of the play, this is a part of the process I really enjoy and I often find myself going down many rabbit holes when researching and cons

What struck me most about our journey through exploring The White Devil was just how despicable these characters are, but how it didn’t really land until the very end of the play, when there was time to look back and take stock. I mean the clue was in the title, but when the play opens with mentions of murders on the first page, and the characters response being that it was okay because they were ‘ordinary people’, the bar is already set at quite a height. It was so interest

The canon gets darker. That's what's always been told to me about the progression of writing in the Early Modern period. I've found it to be true, certainly with 2023's The Changeling and also looking at The Revengers Tragedy last year - revisiting the play that introduced me to Lazarus in 2015. But what really struck me about this week's reading of the The White Devil was just how funny it was. In a very contemporary, typically British and dry fashion - Webster had the room

My recent experience working with the Lazarus Theatre Company allowed me to time travel four hundred years into the past. Our reading of The White Devil was intimate, and one that unfolded with a thoughtful, steady energy that invited everyone in. The focus settled naturally on the actors and the language, and that simplicity made the experience feel personal. It was a refreshing coming together of minds, experiences and perspectives to delve deeper into Webster's 17th centur

The White Devil is a seriously complicated play. As Ricky, the wonderful Artistic Director of LTC made clear by the end of the day, it’s like three plays that have been jammed into one. Now; one could certainly come to the conclusion that adapting such a play would be an exercise in futility, due to its labyrinthian plot and dynamic tonal shifts, yet attempting to figure out this theatrical puzzle TOGETHER is exactly what made this reading so special to me. It was a very welc

After too long away it was exciting to reconnect with the good people at Lazarus Theatre and join their Engine room for an exploration of John Webster’s labyrinthine revenge thriller ‘The White Devil’. The actors and creatives gathered in Lazarus’ brand new workspace to read and begin to unpack this beast of a play. The word ‘beast’ is appropriate here as one of the first things the reading uncovered was how much of the play’s imagery is steeped in the natural world, in parti

Working on ‘The White Devil’ with Lazarus was fantastic. Coming into the day I was nervous but excited. I'd worked previously on ‘The Revengers Tragedy’, which I greatly enjoyed. A wild play, that we had a brilliant time getting into. So I knew it would be another great experience, with some phenomenal creatives in the room. And that turned out to be true. We got straight into the text reading an Act and then discussing it. We would highlight different themes and discuss how/

I had a fascinating time examining this Renaissance tragedy with Lazarus Theatre Company: I loved the beginning of the day when we were all invited to make clear the complex family and domestic links which the characters have, on a board with post it notes: it felt like a murder enquiry: forensic in detail and it helped simplify the relationships. Using props and getting the play up on its feet and read aloud - together with discussion between the acts about the various ref

''As we huddled inside from the rain cuppas in hand and greetings exchanged with fellow creatives old and new, we settle down to begin the mammoth task of dissecting the world Webster has created. First we share images with the rest of group which we have individually selected that speak to us about a single moment in the play. I find I am most drawn to the trial scene and the rampant misogyny that runs throughout the play and how so often the narrative that is created around

If im honest upon reading it the first time I wasn’t immediately loving the white devil, having done duchess and tis pity before I think for some reason it felt a little big and convoluted in comparison. Getting it up on its feet a little and hearing some great voices at play in the room it definitely changed my mind. I suppose what struck me is actually despite the quite epic scenes there is so much scope for intimacy and heart break. I really loved that scene yesterday when