Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Richard Twyman
Many Shakespeare productions set themselves in a modern world, as English Touring Theatre’s new production of Macbeth does. Designer Basia Bińkowska’s minimalist, modernist set, all large panels of slate grey and wood, speaks volumes about this version of Scotland, as do the men’s couture-level kilts and the grubby quilted anoraks that comprise their battle uniform.
What is less familiar is dispensing with the witches, at least in their traditional form. Richard Twyman starts the action near the end of Shakespeare’s Act I, as Lady Macbeth receives notice – by voice note rather than messenger, as befits the era – of their predictions about her husband’s ascendancy.
That she immediately begins plotting to murder the king is thus our introduction to the whole endeavour. There are clues that the Macbeths are grieving – Lois Chimimba’s Lady M is packing up baby onesies into bin bags, while a small urn of ashes is displayed next to a beloved teddy bear – but for director Richard Twyman, this is a couple where both partners are ambitious, but the wife lacks the moral compass her husband, at first, possesses. Chimimba excels here, as a woman who is the perfect host while also scheming to murder their guest of honour.
This being a modern production, video projections play a considerable role. Here, widescreen CCTV images occasionally adorn the set’s upper levels. Mostly relaying live details of onstage work, they allow some of Macbeth’s visions to be shown; as he utters “Is this a dagger I see before me?” Alex Austin’s Macbeth acts to thin air on stage, while the video relay shows a spectral duplicate of the Thane, dagger in hand, heading towards Duncan’s room.
The same effect is duplicated to even more significant effect in the Act III scene in which Banquo’s ghost joins the feast. Gabriel Akuwudike appears spectrally on the video feed, translucent as a modern-day interpretation of Pepper’s ghost, long before he presents himself on stage.
The use of Banquo is interesting here. By excising his opening scenes with Macbeth, his doubts about his friend’s behaviour, and his subsequent murder, carry less weight. That’s remedied by some distance with the reappearance of the witches replaced by the increasing number of bodies, including Banquo, for whom Macbeth feels guilt. It’s an effective way of ramping up the tension, especially with the stillness Akuwudike affords his bloodied, betrayed Banquo.
By the time this production’s interval arrives, with the Macbeths, now king and queen of Scotland, dancing in celebration, the play feels like it has a pace and contemporary attitude so often lacking in adaptations. It is regrettable, then, that the second act is much less clear in those intentions. The lower half of much of Bińkowska’s set is removed, exposing the bare theatre walls behind, and the scene between Ammar Haj Ahmad’s Macduff and Balla Aubin’s exiled Malcolm could dearly benefit from the abridgement that makes the first act so vibrant.
However, the second act does at least provide Austin with some meatiness to his portrayal of the title role. In the first, his breezily chipper “geezer” persona – including some fourth wall-breaking audience interactions – sits at odds with a production which, although prepared to have moments of levity, takes its world-building more seriously. As the besieged Macbeth struggles to retain power, though, we see a subtler version of the character break through: a man who rose so far in the ranks by being amenable and well-liked, but whose ambition has led him to a role for which he is fundamentally unsuited.
Support is provided by David Colvin as Lennox and Sophie Stone as Ross, a character who also assumes the role of the porter. The entire ensemble helps to present a play that, while well-known to many theatregoers, finds something new to say in this thrilling adaptation.
Continues until 29 March 2025
