Women Beware Women

I was back at the National again this evening (well, technically yesterday evening because its now 1:30!) with the entire LAMDA group to see Women Beware Women. The play was written by Thomas Middleton, one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, and was very much the 16th century equivalent of Desperate Housewives: the love affairs of two 16 year olds, an uncle in love with his niece, a Duke who steals a peasants wife, and a mean, manipulative widow who causes the death of pretty much everyone in the play.

Rather than taking place in the 16th century, the director set the play in the 1950s. The costumes were all representative of '50s characters and during intense scenes, a band played slow jazz (sort of Godfather-esque). I thought the whole show was a bit corny, but I was surprised by how easily the show transfered to a modern time.