The Duchess of Malfi

Maria Aberg’s visceral revival of John Webster’s Jacobean tragedy of mightily abused femininity is certainly a bloody affair. Its great triumph is to hint at something intrinsically nightmarish at the kernel of human existence. Rising talent Joan Iyiola (pictured) is superb as the fierce, proud Duchess. Dominic Cavendish Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (rsc.org.uk), until Aug 3