I know many of you will have already considered how much Shakespeare’s MACBETH could be improved by the insertion of interpretive dance and hip-hop music.It’s played out on a striking set by Lizzie Clachan that uses tricks of perspective to create an industrial looking tunnel that sometimes opens out into bleak empty chambers. It gives the whole thing a slightly sci-fi feel, I was reminded of the space ship in the film ALIEN.
The costumes have a timeless look with some curve balls thrown in like having the saintly King Duncan dressed as a 70’s pimp, otherwise there are hints of Guantanamo Bay (Yes, again! Yawn!) amidst futuristic-ish chic.
There are lots of bodies wrapped in plastic sheets at the beginning. At least I think they were bodies, they didn’t have quite the shape and weight of corpses, so who knows. The witches are dressed in stretchy flesh coloured, modern dance gear, with big, tight knickers that look like sticking plasters. The murderers look like street dancers. Macbeth, the young warrior who kills his king and betrays his friends to ensure a prediction comes to pass which promises he will one day rule, is played by the wiry and sensitive John Heffernan. He’s a terrific actor with a real mastery of the text but he looks more suited to playing the introspective Hamlet rather than the psychopathic man of war required here.
At the heart of any production of Macbeth is the relationship between him and his wife, the calculating, ruthlessly ambitious Lady Macbeth.
The prospect of seeing Anna Maxwell Martin, one of our cleverest stage and TV actors, in this role is enticing but unfortunately she’s rather ordinary in this production bringing nothing new to one of the most psychologically complex characters in Shakespeare. Her succession of stylish costumes is about the most interesting thing about her well spoken, capable performance.
Shoe-horning modern and street dance routines into the action feels like a desperate attempt by two directors, who seemingly have no faith in the power of the text, to make things appeal to a younger audience.
I must confess that many young audience members I overheard at the end had really enjoyed it even if all the gimmicks left me cold.
On the plus side the text is delivered intelligently and clearly but this play can have enormous power in performance. On this occasion you may find it hard to care or engage with its two central protagonists.
Played over two interval-less hours it becomes something of an endurance test.
This new, much anticipated version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is not only a celebration of all things festive but also of theatre itself.