Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, founding Artistic Director of Headlong (2005 to 2013), Associate Director at the RSC and Artistic Director of Northampton Theatres (2002 to 2005). Women, Beware the Devil will feature set design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, and sound design by Adam Cork. And here lies the problem at the centre of the play: when given the power to have anything you desire, what do you want? Riled by Elizabeth in the first scene, Agnes eventually reveals her desire to be ‘perfect’ – to feel silk on her skin, to eat off china, to have read every single book in the house, to own every piece of art in the gallery, and to be so knowledgeable, beautiful, and refined that anybody who looks at her is overcome with their own inadequacy.

woman Shirley Valentine Sheridan Smith is a transcendent one-woman Shirley Valentine

On Thu 16 Mar we will be holding a variety of free workshops and events for those aged 25 and under, including a free performance of Women, Beware the Devil. Film includes: Northern Comfort; Last Christmas; The Fifth Estate; Born of War; Legendary; Archipelago; True True Lie. In Women, Beware the Devil, that evil shows itself in the role of Elizabeth, who as a noblewoman is barred from owning property, or making a life for herself – so she shamelessly manipulates her brother into doing what she wants. Joining Goold in the creative team are set design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design and music composition by Adam Cork, and casting by Amy Ball.Women, Beware the Devil is Raczka’s first time writing for a big stage, and that has come with challenges. “I was a year late handing in my play – everyone at the Almeida was very annoyed about it,” she explains, a little rueful. “But writing for a bigger stage is such a massive challenge. You need big ideas.” No previous experience is necessary, and this event is aimed at anyone aged 25 and under with an interest in fashion, design or hoping to learn more about costume design. Set in 1640s England, Lady Elizabeth tries to protect her family’s legacy when it’s under threat. She calls upon Agnes, a servant suspected of witchcraft, who tries to elicit her dark dreams on the house. This production contains death, violence (including sexual violence), self-harm, guns, scenes of a sexual nature, strong language and the use of blood. It also includes haze, flashing lights, strobe and sudden loud noises. Recommended for ages 13+.

Women, Beware the Devil, at the Almeida Cumbersome muddle: Women, Beware the Devil, at the Almeida

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. And you would need to be Tynan to grasp all this, categorize it (“period drama” comes nowhere near) or find an overarching metaphor. That may be a good thing but is Raczka really breaking new ground? As Rupert Goold stood near the press desk while reviewers filed through the foyer, his smile alternated between beatific and Mephistophelian. I have interviewed Goold (he is surely Cavalier rather than Roundhead) and would trust him. And yet perhaps it is we who are the butt of the joke?A wild and unwieldly new work from Lulu Raczka" "The price of ambition is, of course, the occasional misfire"

Women, Beware the Devil review - The Stage

So, Raczka does indeed locate her drama in the past, 1640, and the eve of the English Civil War, though her richly conceived, daring, larking, fascinating oddity of a play resonates strongly with a Britain which continues to be stymied by tradition, elitism and a monarchy that just won’t go away; while witchcraft and domestic power struggles dominate the action, the subtext is a dialectic between the impulses for revolution and the status quo that the country has never resolved. Dubheasa Lanipekun (she/her) is a multidisciplinary theatremaker, filmmaker and photographer. In her lens-based practice she was most recently a Sundance Institute Fellow on the Ignite Programme with Adobe, winning a place with her debut short film Blue Corridor 15 (Dazed/ ICA/ BBC). Her work is motivated by finding the social truth within drama. She is interested in work which revolves around and interrogates the theme of liberation. Her practice is grounded in a deep interest in the politicised lives of people. Theatre includes: Hamlet; Faith, Hope and Charity; Tartuffe (National Theatre); The 306 Dawn (National Theatre of Scotland ); Her Naked Skin (Salisbury Playhouse); Romeo and Juliet Vernon God Little (The Space); Homo Sacer For Lady Elizabeth nothing is more important than protecting her family’s legacy and their ancestral home. When that comes under threat, she elicits the help of Agnes, a young servant suspected of witchcraft. Double, double, toil and trouble: what strange sorcery is this? Lulu Raczka’s new play sounded so enticing – a murky brew of witchcraft, politics and revenge tragedy – but it turns out that it is more likely to induce indigestion than intoxication. Oozing lurid imagery, it has a certain appealing, audacious swagger, thanks in no small part to a sumptuous production by Rupert Goold. But it is also a frustrating mess, its notions about class, gender and power barely conceived, let alone developed.Lulu Raczka’s new play sounded so enticing – a murky brew of witchcraft, politics and period drama – but it turns out that it is more likely to induce indigestion than intoxication. Oozing lurid imagery, it has a certain appealing, audacious swagger, thanks in no small part to a sumptuous production by Rupert Goold. But it is also a frustrating mess, its notions about class, gender and power barely conceived, let alone developed."