THREE stars
MACBETH, one of
Shakespeare’s finest and most well loved plays is the latest
offering from the Young Vic.
It is directed by
Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin and combines dance and often
pulsating music with strobe lighting.
Judicioulsy clipped to
two hours straight through this is not a production for the faint
hearted and I’m not sure it will appeal to Shakespeare purists but
it was an interesting interpretation nonetheless.
It is set in what looks
like a vortex, a claustrophobic tunnel that presumably represents
Macbeth’s mind.
Indeed there is no hint
of the vast expanse of the rugged Scottish landscape here.
The opening scene
immediately grabs your attention and is extremely disturbing. The
jarring music pulsates, lights flicker and we see acts of tortue - a
man captured has his head thrust in a plastic bag before he is
executed. Grim stuff.
And because it’s set
very much in the here and now, there is more than a nod to places
like Abu Graib.
John Hefferman is
fabulous as Macbeth, a nice bloke who is seduced by his power hungry
wife to murder his way to the top.
But the reasons why he
suddenly changes from nice to murderous at the drop of a hat are not
fully explored and you never get a real sense of why he does what he
does.
Anna Maxwell Martin as
Lady M was something of a disappointment. She was ice cool but too
quiet and sometimes rushed her lines so much that I could barely make
out what she said.
The witches, dressed
head to toe in skin coloured body stockings, were a constant feature
of the production begging the question of whether or not they were a
figment in Macbeth’s mind, part of his psyche?
If they were supposed
to be a vision of Macbeth's decaying mental state, their constant
dancing of juddering and jolting around the stage didn't quite work
for me.
However, despite this
there are some thrilling moments and the staging was exciting, clever
and daring.
Macbeth is on at the
Young Vic, The Cut, Waterloo until January 23. Tickets cost from £10.
Visit www.youngvic.org/ or call the box office 020 7922 2922.
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