What’s done is done

Last week saw Shakespeare’s Macbeth given a LUDS makeover.

Unusually, the primary focus was not on the downfall of the tragic King and his many Scotsman, but rather on the characters themselves.  This different angle was emphasised in the very intimate setting of the Stanley Theatre.

For just £4 the audience and I were seemingly transported to the distant setting of the Scottish highlands.

Upon this journey we encountered not three witches, but just one, schizophrenic, Scottish accented witch, Hecate, along with Banquo, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and a series of Scotsmen doing anything to please King Duncan (be that anything BUT save his life).

The stage was set.
The lightning of the hurlyburly was set up in the lighting rig and sound desk.
The audience were ready to indulge in the personal trials and tribulations of the characters on stage.

The opening sequence of this production involved a maddened witch running through the audience and jumping on stage.  It was highly unexpected.

It’s not to say that I didn’t find the witch entertaining, it’s just when I see Macbeth, I hope and pray that the three witches will be anything but young, slightly crazed and with wild hair.

I wanted three grotesque fear-inducing old hags to welcome me to the highlands, not a maddened girl that would’ve received a swift back hand if I were Banquo!

I take my hat off to Joseph Spink who, throughout the entirety of the performance, upheld an air of the “royal” about him.  I almost believed for a second or two that I was in the presence of a King.

I found the scenes featuring Macbeth and Banquo the most entertaining throughout the night.  Francesca Williams as a female Banquo was fantastic.

Initially, after reading the programme I was hesitant as to whether I’d enjoy the role of Banquo played by a female, due to it being so masculine and steeped in the art of warfare.  However, I must admit she gave one of the best performances of the night along, with Charlotte Wilson playing an extremely fragile Lady Macbeth.

I still have reservations about the choice of one of the witches, whose boots left no element of surprise when Banquo re-emerged.  We could all hear her from miles off as it was one of the creakiest floors in the world.

The choice of Director and Assistant Director to head down the route of looking at the characters as characters, rather than as an actor portraying a part written for them, was in many respects a brilliant move and I must congratulate them.

My final reservation goes not to the performance team, but to the guild, for having the worst central heating system I have ever come across.