THE DUCHESS OF MALFI: The visual aspects of the production aimed to be a fusion of Renaissance Italy and the goth subculture of the 1980s. The gothic elements were meant to serve as a sign of freedom and self-expression, while the period elements represented the constraints of patriarchal societies and ways of thinking. The crucifix in-lay was the core of the design; it was both the best overlap of the two aesthetics and a reminder of the role that the Christian church has played in policing (in the show, in the past, and in the present) the lives of women and queer people.