Explore some of Maria Aberg's previous productions in our theatres.
We're excited to welcome Maria Aberg back to tackle John Webster's gory tale of revenge, The Duchess of Malfi, in her own distinct style. Take a look through her previous productions in both the Swan and Royal Shakespeare Theatres below.
Maria's vibrant King John played in the Swan Theatre in 2012, with Alex Waldmann as a monarch who likes a party and the pivotal role of The Bastard played as a woman by Pippa Nixon. The set, designed by Naomi Dawson, was filled with balloons, streamers and party dresses.
Maria's gleeful version of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy, As You Like It, played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre during the summer of 2013 and saw the return of the magical pairing between Alex Waldmann (Orlando) and Pippa Nixon (Rosalind). Music for the production was composed by Brit Award winner and Mercury Prize nominee Laura Marling, with Naomi Dawson's set of perpendicular wooden columns evoking both the Court and the Forest of Arden.
Maria directed John Webster's violent tragedy, The White Devil, in the Swan Theatre as part of our 2014 Roaring Girls season. Kirsty Bushell and David Sturzaker played the doomed couple Vittoria and Duke Bracciano respectively, with a cross-gender casting of Laura Elphinstone as Vittoria's brother, Flaminio. Naomi Dawson's striking design included the use of video to prefigure and comment on the action on stage.
Maria's production of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, with a stylish, modern design by Naomi Dawson, played in the Swan Theatre during summer 2016, before it transferred to the Barbican. Sandy Grierson and Oliver Ryan shared the roles of the embittered academic Faustus and the demon Mephistophilis. Each night, the decision as to who played Doctor Faustus and who played Mephistophilis was made live on stage. Both actors entered, lit a match and watched it burn. Whoever's match went out first 'lost' and played the damned Doctor.