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I was lucky enough to see The White Devil twice when it played in the Pit Theatre at the Barbican Center in London.
It's a very small theatre in the round with 2 diagonal aisles cutting through the auditorium for the audience to use to get to their seats. Later once the play has begun, the actors use these same aisles for their entrances and exits.
Philip's character was the first one on stage, and the audience was quite taken aback when he stormed on as Count Ludovico wearing a sword, very heavy black boots, swirled his billowing cape over the heads of the people sitting in aisle seats, and bellowed, "Fortune's a right whore!" Talk about setting the scene!
Yes, the play is quite violent, bloody, and grim, but having seen it certainly added a lot to the scenes with young John Webster in Shakespeare in Love! At one point, the character Isabella kissed a poisoned portrait of her husband and went into convulsions, while Philip who had surreptitiously watched her from behind a pillar, rushed forward and held her firmly as she thrashed and writhed while the poison took effect. Once dead, he slung her casually over his shoulder and trooped offstage.
Both Troilus and Cressida and The White Devil were great productions and the first time I saw Philip.
I only wish I'd been able to see him in Les Miz too!
