Macbeth

Harold Pinter Theatre, 03/10/24

Credit: Marc Brenner

Final rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When I arrived at the theatre, the steward said to me: ‘prepare for a masterclass in theatre’. They weren’t wrong. Not only is this the greatest adaptation of Macbeth I’ve ever seen, it’s probably one of the best experiences at the theatre I’ve ever had. Here’s why.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room… the audience is required to wear headphones throughout the entire thing, because there’s a focus on creating a soundscape and having atmosphere play through our ears while the actors perform one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. They’re all mic’d up, which means it feels like they’re literally talking to you, and every deep breath or whispered line cuts through and sends a chill down your spine. The audio textures – like crows cawing, wind blowing, adds another dimension of immersion. It really feels like you’re there. And it allows for the show to omit the witches from having a presence altogether – they’re not played by physical actors but rather they cackle and chant in your ears, creating an eerie, almost nightmarish, representation of these wicked sisters. The use of smoke and red lighting to indicate their presence, coupled with the audio illusion, worked an absolute treat. I also liked how, in this adaptation, they chose not to start with the witches’ lines – instead it begins with Banquo and Macbeth commenting on how it is a ‘foul day’… the big spooky spectacle is saved for later on, building the tension.

The production itself prides itself on minimalism. The characters all wear a modern black kilts with grey tops – apart from Lady Macbeth who stands out in her white dress. Apart from the odd crown or sword, there are no props, and the stage is simply a white platform which the characters use as a multi-purpose field, castle, banquet table, battlefield, and so on. It really demonstrates that you don’t need elaborate sets to create a sense of place, and again the audio textures help elevate this point as it locates the action for you.

The cast themselves are magnificent. David Tennant in his native Scottish tongue as Macbeth is a force to be reckoned with. It was like he was translating as he spoke, with every line delivered with absolute conviction. It truly was the greatest performance of Shakespeare I’ve ever seen. Cush Jumbo’s Lady Macbeth too is conniving and tragic, and the pair have scarily electric chemistry between them. Particularly in the moments before killing Duncan does this really come across, as it is all too easy to play Macbeth as the hesitant character who needs extreme encouragement from Lady Macbeth. Instead, she acts not as a ringleader but merely as a guiding force – it was always clear that Macbeth wanted to kill the king, based on the prophecy of the witches. It was done just right. Cal MacAninch’s Banquo was also executed superbly, being Macbeth’s right hand man until he becomes King and has to cautiously navigate his now clearly disturbed friend’s change in attitude towards the world. Even Theo Wake as Fleance delivered a heartbreaking performance (and I usually can’t stand child actors) – it was handled with the right level of distance and care, making his dramatic death at the hands of Macbeth – a heartless snap of the neck, illustrated with the sound design – all the more tragic.

The production also took risks. They decided to keep in the Porter’s comedic monologue which every other production I’ve seen has chosen to omit. Instead, Jatinder Singh Randhawa breaks the fourth wall and delivers a modern monologue addressing the fact that the audience has paid to effectively come and watch a radio play, with jokes about Oasis concerts and encouraging an almost pantomime-like call and response with ‘Knock knock who’s there’. For a moment, it felt out of place, but actually I think it was brave to include and provided some comedy to the increasingly dark events playing out on stage, and he did it well.

It certainly might annoy the traditionalist, and some may say there would’ve been merit to perform this without the need of the audio atmosphere and simply let Tennant deliver his blistering performance of Macbeth without distractions. But I say the entire production was totally enhanced, to create something unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was a simply stunning night at the theatre, and despite a significant cut to the script running at around 1hr40, it felt so much shorter and I almost didn’t want it to end. They say uttering the play’s name in a theatre is a curse and causes bad luck, but ultimately I think I’ll be talking about this production of Macbeth for years to come. Stunning.