|
|
A little witchcraft as Clemmie Sveaas, Jessie Oshodi and Ana Beatriz Meireles raise the dead Photo by Richard Hubert Smith Macbeth
Birmingham Rep
**** CONTEMPORARY interpretations of
Shakespeare’s work are always bound to divide opinion. Traditionalists
are less open to visions that go well outside the box of what they
expect, what they are used to. Others welcome fresh, more challenging versions
that offer an audience a new perspective. There is, of course, no right
and no wrong; interpretation provides endless staging choices and
opportunities for a director. What shouldn't be tinkered with, however,
is the richness and power of the text. It really is all about the words. Carrie Cracknell and
Lucy Guerin’s nightmarish take on The
Scottish Play is packed full of
stylised directorial choices. The use of dance gives a certain pace and
fluency to the storytelling. A foreboding, subterranean set gives a
bleak, almost claustrophobic feel – dark intentions mirrored by grey,
unforgiving surroundings. Back Lighting maintains the sombre mood and
deliberately highlights
lurking shadows. Pace between scenes is slick, never allowing the energy
to drop. All these elements are unquestionably effective
and innovative. Whether they work holistically for the good of the play
is more open to question. As a student, one of the many checklists I had to
write about for any story was its themes. I imagine that the
considerable number of GCSE students in the audience last night were
grappling with the same question.
Macbeth’s themes are universal and still
frighteningly relevant today. Corruption, political infighting,
uprising, war and misuse of leadership; all feature heavily and
highlight, depressingly, how so little has changed in the corridors of
power. Exploring these themes within a modern context is
a good way in for a director to make a play more accessible. We know
that death and betrayal is going on but what is more interesting is the
effect those things have on the characters. Cause and effect is explored
well here, connecting the established themes very much to our own time. Performances are tight throughout. Lady Macbeth
is played with beautiful understatement by Anna Maxwell Martin whilst
John Hefferman coveys the richness of the text with real effect.
The company deliver the story with pace and passion – all the more
effective on a narrow corridor of a set. For me, the choices made do not always work. At
times the choreography seems over used. It doesn’t always seem to
integrate successfully with the text and at times detracts somewhat from
the richness of the language. While the flow and movement of the play
are undeniably and cleverly assisted by integral choreography, it
threatens, at times, to dilute the real power of the central narrative. If you are expecting
the play you were probably taught at school, you won't get it. If you
want your witches to be vile, toothless crones stirring up
eyes of a newt
in a big pot, again, you won't get it. What you will get is a brave and
dynamic new vision that brings a much loved text bang up to date.
You may love it. You may not. But what it will do is make you talk about
it and that can only be a good thing. To 30-01-16 Tom Roberts
26-01-16
|
|
|