Macbeth at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

[dutchman]

Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, until October. Running time 2hrs 50mins.



Putting a new spin on three of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters is a risky game.

But the gamble pays off beautifully for RSC artistic director Michael Boyd who has cast children as the witches in Macbeth for the debut production at Stratford’s revamped Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

The kids steal the show from their first appearance as they hang hauntingly from wires like rag dolls high above the stage to their harrowing and heart-wrenching character development in a scene that had me choking back tears.

Special mention goes to little Isabella Sanders, of Warwick’s Playbox Theatre, who delivers the perfect balance of control and pathos.

It’s a feisty and gloriously gory production, with welcome light relief from the drunken porter, kitted out with suicide bomber-style fireworks.

Aislin McGuckin, as Lady Macbeth, has a self-certainty reminiscent of a 1980s Margaret Thatcher – the Lady is not for turning – and this absolute defiance makes her fragile suffering in the later stages of the play all the more moving.

The new theatre really embraces the audience, with actors venturing into the auditorium and the action on stage being within spitting distance – often literally – of the front rows.

If you’ve seen more productions of Macbeth than you can shake a bloody dagger at, this darkly dynamic interpretation will cajole you see it with new eyes.

Rating * * * *

Review by Mary Griffin