Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - Macbeth is a dark, adrenaline fuelled, heart thumping show

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On Wednesday, we were invited to Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester to see Macbeth. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder thought about this excellent play...

Ah, The Scottish Play! The name superstitious thespians refuse to say in the theatre. Well last night it rang clear and loud as HER Productions brough their own twist of Macbeth to Hope Mill Theatre. It never ceases to amaze me how the creative people of this world keep managing to find new ways to present a play that has been seen across the globe millions of times and was written over 400 years ago! That in itself is worthy of applause. Add in an intimate theatre setting with a production seen through the eyes of female theatre makers, and you have a dark, adrenaline fuelled, heart thumping show. As Macbeth returns home with his trusted friend and ally Banquo, full of pride for winning their battle, they encounter three weird sisters who foretell a prophecy whereby Macbeth may one day be King. As King Duncan prepares to celebrate, Mabeth tells his wife of his strange meeting. She pushes him to take action into his own hands and make this happen, but that involves killing Banquo before killing the King because he knew of the prophecy and might put two and two together. As Macbeth struggles with his conscience following the murders, resulting in him seeing the ghost of Banquo at the Kings feast, Lady Macbeth revels in the potential it can bring. King Duncans wife and children flee for their own safety, protected by MacDuff. Macbeth revisits the weird sisters and they inform him he shall remain King so long as no man born of woman fights him, and that the forest doesn’t enter the castle. With both things seeming impossible, Macbeth’s confidence grows and he feels invincible, just as Lady Macbeth starts to be consumed with guilt and fear. But of course, the weird sisters speak in riddles, and Macbeth soon finds out that their predictions may not be as impossible as he believed.

With this production of Macbeth running at 2 hours including an interval, it is inevitable that the original script will be trimmed, edited, and snipped. The show opens with a brilliant flashback to Macduff being born in brutal circumstances, a birth that will come back to haunt Macbeth. As the theatre resonates with whispers of haunting voices echoing on the edges of your consciousness, the ambiance of a sparse, dark inhabited world entangled with inexplicable witchcraft and impossibility rakes its bony fingers through your soul and leaves you on edge with a heightened sense of danger. And as fabulous as the cast are in this production, I have to start by applauding the creative team, because they took us all to a world drenched with fear, uncertainty, anxiety, and trepidation. They toyed with our senses time and time again with outstanding sound design (Hannah Bracegirdle), that truly made us feel the story of Macbeth rather than just passively watching it. Combined with voice recordings from Laura Bowler that allowed us into the psyche of prominent characters and played hide and seek with uncertainty, it was a killer combination. Screams, unsettling background white noise, drums, and unexpected twisted voices combined to put you on high alert, allowing us to feel some of the sane insanity experienced by both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and embodied the unknown quantity of the weird sisters. The lighting by Katy Errington captured death, despair, anguish, manipulation and power through its ability to drench us with darkness, play with the spectrum of reds, and blind us with brilliance. Zoey Barnes and Dulcie Good designed exciting and ingenious costumes, that were fashionable yet representative, combining period costumes with tradition, tartan kilts, and finished off with a modern twist. Some costumes transformed themselves before our very eyes, taking us to a three in one piece with Hectate’s costume, into old woman, into servant. It was mesmerising.

This was a feisty, passionate, and raw production, fuelled by a brilliant cast. It was a treat to hear a range of regional accents throughout the production too, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but after seeing numerous versions of Macbeth over the years, it is the first production I have seen where Macbeth actually spoke with a Scottish accent! It was refreshing. Elaine McNicol gave a strong, bold, performance as Macbeth, with every word ringing oud and clear. Frankie Lipman as our Lady Macbeth was regal, passionate, teasing, and a tad psychotic as her mind started to betray her. Ciara Tansey was an equal match to Macbeth, defiant and unwavering throughout. Naomi Albans gave us a deliciously opulent Duncan, dripping with wealth, privilege and captured this brilliantly with her voice and dismissive nature to servants. Miranda Parker as the porter and Hectate stole the show for me with the porter scene, making Shakespeare’s words come alive with such humour, ease, and incredible use of naturalistic conversational tones such as stuttering and repetition of words. It was a masterclass on how Shakespeare can be understood. The three witches or weird sisters were performed by Paryce Richards, Zoey Barnes, and Pavanveer Sagoo. They excelled in scaring the audience half to death with their fixed vacant stares bearing into your minds, and their excellent convulsing bodies that contorted and twisted in impressive ways. Their first encounter rang out the famous words in discord with each other, each pitching their voice slightly off from the other and creating an eerie dissonance. Lucy Enderby brought us Malcolm and really came into their own as Malcolms gravitas grows in the second act, showing a quiet and dignified strength and true leadership as future King. Leila Uwimana was brilliant as Banquo, especially as the ghost, mimicking Macbeths body movements with amazing skill and a dangerous stare. Catherine Traveller, Laura Percival, and Naina Dhillon completed the cast as Ross, Donalbain, and Lady Macduff, supporting the main cast and each having stand out moments with clearly defined characters.

Directed by Hannah Ellis Ryan and Amy Gavin, this production of Macbeth encapsulated a feel for the play with its darkness, its danger, and its unsettling involvement with witches. The second act opened to a brilliant scene of the witches famous “Double, double, toil and trouble” speech. The actors entered the theatre right alongside the audience, staring them out and putting us on edge for what was to become an iconic moment. The scene developed into a hybrid of a pageant cult festival and a trance rave, with music, chants, and drums interspersed with dancing, fluid movement, jerking movement, and a sense that if you entered into their space, you would be brainwashed and never be free to leave. It felt immersive and was one of the highlights of this production for me. There were times throughout the show when the script edits felt a little abrupt, leaving both Macbeth and Lady Macbeths ever changing psychological journey short changed and wondering where their change of heart had come from. The time restraints on this production sometimes left it feeling a little rushed and therefore hard to keep track of, which isn’t ideal when it can be challenging enough as it is following Shakespeare’s language, and there were a few moments where I was unsure of its identity, for some performers were taking a very modern and naturalistic stance of delivering Shakespeare, where as others favoured a classical approach. Having said that, the overall production was more than impressive and evoked a response from all your senses, stimulating a heady mix of fear, favour, awe, and adulation. The audience reaction was strong with a standing ovation and unfiltered appreciation. I have to applaud anyone taking on Shakespeare and showing me something that I have never seen before, and this HER Productions performance, most definitely did that. So, lead on Macduff and show everyone the way to Hope Mill Theatre for an inventive and fresh look at Macbeth.

WE SCORE MACBETH...