Culture Writer Youssra Al-Hajji reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Macbeth, praising the performances of the tragic leads
When you hear ‘Macbeth,’ three things instantly come to mind: tragedy, betrayal, and more than a pinch of the supernatural. In my mind, if director Wils Wilson were to hit these three chords correctly in her production of Macbeth for the RSC, then I salute the play to have been orchestrated beautifully. And two out of three of those notes are potent in this theatre production: tragedy and betrayal come hand-in-hand in the magnificent duo of Lady Macbeth (Valene Kane) and Macbeth (Reuben Joseph), whose incredibly bone-chilling performances I shall return to later. Yet the depiction of the Weird Sisters (Amber Sylvia Edwards, Eilidh Loan and Dylan Read), arguably one of the most enticing aspects of the play, is disappointingly underwhelming.
The opening of Macbeth is a moment of great anticipation. With bated breaths the audience watches as the ground itself is torn open and out rises each witch like children out of Mother Nature’s womb. Eerily dressed in fur skins and wild hair, the first moments of the play hold great promise. But then, the Weird Sisters fall upon the ground, rolling and writhing. My expectations? They tumbled to the floor right alongside them.
There is a fine line between the unnatural and the supernatural, and whilst the former is in abundance, the pivotal latter is sadly missing for me throughout the play
Where is the cunning, the malicious intent, the basic witchery? Where is the supernatural presence these characters were created to embody and exude? Great skill must be attributed to the actors themselves, whose skilful contortion of their limbs create the impression of a strange amalgamation of body parts; a strange hybrid made of three. But there is a fine line between the unnatural and the supernatural, and whilst the former is in abundance, the pivotal latter is sadly missing for me throughout the play.
Still, only a third of an otherwise good recipe does not warrant one to discard the whole, and substitutes can sometimes be as charming as the original. What the sisters lack in weird is wonderfully replaced with comedy. The intent behind the infamous Porter’s scene has long been a contentious topic, but the vitality it sparks in the play after a ghastly murder has never been questioned. Enter Stewart Lee, a comedian whom Wilson must be applauded for seeking to ingeniously re-write the Porter’s scene. Nothing like a bit of stand-up comedy by Scottish actress Alison Peebles to wash the mind clean of bloody thoughts. She gracefully embodies the archetypal dissatisfied-with-life-and-my-job-and-having-a-mid-life-crisis drunkard whilst managing to engage the GCSE students frantically noting down analysis in the audience. ‘The colour red symbolises blood…’ Well now, who would have thought?
Kane enchants the audience from the get-go, leaving us watching with morbid fascination as her eclectic character of Lady Macbeth dances in the rain, then summons spirits to possess her
Speaking of blood, that draws me back to the other two key aspects of this play: tragedy and betrayal. Both are executed phenomenally. Kane enchants the audience from the get-go, leaving us watching with morbid fascination as her eclectic character of Lady Macbeth dances in the rain, then summons spirits to possess her and take her milk for gall, before seducing her husband into her wicked plans and ending the night with tea preparations for Duncan’s arrival. Each monologue is artfully performed to reflect the cunning fanaticism hidden behind the carefully cultivated mask of the gracious hostess. Complementary to her deranged nature is the continuously spiralling Macbeth, whose descent into madness Joseph sprinkles with moments of alleviating humour. Who knew a tyrannical madman could be relatable at points? The actor’s impressive performance even brings in a bit of his previous role – Alexander Hamilton – singing morbidly as he attempts to slay Macduff.
The simplistic yet remarkably effective stage, lighting, sound, and costume design…sets the scene and the atmosphere subtly and gracefully, without the pompous fanfare of huge set changes
The cast as a whole is likeable, with Banquo (Anna Russell-Martin), Macbeth and Fleance (Liam King) almost forming a merry little band – until everyone decides to start dabbling in murder, that is. The design team led by designer Georgia McGuinness must be credited for the simplistic yet remarkably effective stage, lighting, sound, and costume design. It sets the scene and the atmosphere subtly and gracefully, without the pompous fanfare of huge set changes. Whilst the beginning of the production may be a pitch too low, the end is worthy of a standing ovation.
As Gary Ryan Blair once said, ‘Many will start fast, few will finish strong.’ Macbeth, I am pleased to say, joined the minority.
Rating: 3/5
Enjoyed this? Read more from Redbrick Culture here!
Comments