PERFORMING a play written four centuries beforehand can be very difficult to do well.

For a start, language can be a barrier for anyone unfamiliar with the play or the literature of the time.

Society has changed almost beyond recognition, so translating cultural references and making the works relevant can be a challenge.

However, the National Theatre's production of Webster's The Duchess of Malfi breezed past these problems on Tuesday night.

Exemplary acting throughout, especially from Janet McTeer in the title role and Lorcan Cranitch as Bosola, the spy ensured the lines meanings were clear.

The cast sought to use the script like real people having conversations, instead of resorting to the self-indulgent melodramatics actors often seem to imagine represents acting in Renaissance tragedies. The only exception to this was Will Keen, who in the first half of the play failed to evince the power and dread Ferdinand's speech suggested.

Many productions use a single set to represent a variety of scenes with only minimum changes, but few manage it to such devastating effect.

The modern costume and props, the deployment of which can often impede the suspension of disbelief, worked well.

All these characteristics allowed the play's relevance to 21st Century life to shine through. In Victorian times, its bloody murders were considered gratuitous and depraved and it was rarely shown, but thankfully today we know better. It plays until tomorrow (Saturday).

Jon di Paolo