As part of our Spanish Golden Age season Punishment without Revenge is a dark and thrilling drama, an audacious blend of unbearable tension and delicious comedy, which both terrifies and delights.
Regarded as the greatest tragedy of the Spanish Golden Age and the finest play of its presiding genius, Lope de Vega, this elegant work is set in the dangerous and glamorous world of Renaissance Italy.
The Duke of Ferrara has lived a wild and unconventional life. An infamous womaniser, his only son, Federico, is a bastard whom he dreams will one day succeed him.
When his subjects demand that he marry and provide them with the stability of a legitimate heir, the proud and beautiful Cassandra, Duchess of Mantua, is sent to be his bride.
But everything does not fall happily into place.
A passionate love develops – but not between the Duke and his Duchess – and, in a culture where honour is the highest virtue, there can be only one outcome.
See more about the full Spanish Golden Age Season [here](https://arcola1.staging.wpengine.com/whats-on/spanish-golden-age-season).
Painting “Guardainfanta” © Sol Úbeda [www.solubeda.net](http://www.solubeda.net)
Spanish Golden Age photographs by Jane Hobson
Hear some of the music from the Spanish Golden Age Season by composer Jon Nicholls [here](https://soundcloud.com/jon-nicholls/the-spanish-golden-age)
“Frances McNamee and Nick Barber […] are now paired again as the doomed adulterers: her reined-in sensuality and his neurotic anguish are perfectly matched.”
“A first-rate production from Laurence Boswell, which is physically spare yet implies sumptuousness; much of that is down to mark Bailey’s sets and costumes, with their silver thrones and sable doublets.”
★★★★★ The Guardian
“Using a pithy and pointed new translation by Meredith Oakes, Boswell’s production has a feel of both Velazquez and Racine”
“The tragic centrepiece of the season is his darkly glittering and deeply engrossing production of Punishment without Revenge”
★★★★ The Independent
9 January – 15 March 2014
Monday – Saturday evenings at 7.30pm £18 (£14 con)
PUNISHMENT WITHOUT REVENGE
Opening Preview Performances all tickets £14
Previews (11, 20, 21 and 22 January)
Performance Dates in Rep
11 January
w/c 20 January (Mon – Sat)
w/c 10 February (Mon – Sat)
w/c 03 March (Mon – Sat)
15 March (Sat matinee)
Saturday matinees at 2.30pm £16 (£12 con)
Pay What You Can Tuesdays
Running time is approximately 2.5hrs including an interval
See the full schedule of performances [here](http://issuu.com/arcola/docs/sga_festival_of_events)
