Beatrice Joanna, a desperate heiress, uses the disfigured de Flores to ’dispose’ of her unwanted bridegroom. In one of the most chilling scenes in English theatre, De Flores returns with gruesome evidence of his loyalty. When she attempts to pay him in gold, the obsessed servant insists he had another reward in mind – Beatrice Joanna herself. Their famous descent into hell is relieved by passages of startling humour. Lunatics and ghosts people this disturbing thriller of horror, sex and death.

Cheek by Jowl was formed in 1981 by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod. Celebrated for its fresh and vivid productions of classic plays from the British repertoire, the company has also introduced British audiences to international classics by writers such as Racine, Ostrovsky, Lessing and Corneille.

For more information about this production, click here to read our First Night Feature.