The genius of The Barden Party’s adaptation of Macbeth isn’t in recognising the Southern Gothic tendencies of the Scottish play – the novelist William Faulkner probably gets credit for that. No – their brilliant move is taking the next logical step and introducing actual banjos.
And, likewise: many directors try to take a “fresh approach” to enlivening Shakespeare, usually by updating the setting to a 21st-century boardroom, or drawing on an all-female cast. With The Barden Party? It’s more “Shakespeare in a blender”, with a gender-flip, bluegrass musical numbers, breaking the fourth wall, and tossing in modern language. But does a Shakespeare smoothie work? In a word: yes. In two words? Hell yes.
Probably the first clue that this is going to be a good time is in the company name: The Barden Party. This saucy cast of seven is clearly having a blast with their roles, and their sense of boundless fun is fully contagious. From the first appearance of the Weird Brothers, this raucous, riotous adaptation also embodies the original spirit of Elizabethan performance and its boisterous groundlings, in contrast to later rarefied high-culture interpretations of Shakespeare.
This Macbeth is the Bard of the heart rather than the head, freshly anointing the dramatic highs and lows of the well-known plot with raw, powerful energy that floods through the mythic themes and sustains itself even through its authentically bawdy comic moments.
And the intimacy of the small black box venue and minimal use of set and props serve to highlight the uniformly impressive strength of the acting, singing and playing from the versatile polymath cast. The physical clowning is delightful; Macbeth’s troubled thousand-yard stares are effective; and the ultimate tragedy hits hard.
It’s surprising, and a credit to Laura Irish’s dramaturgy and Ollie Howlett’s musical direction, just how naturally musical numbers are able to sit within the classic script. For the most part, the songs succeed in amplifying the emotions on display, though I did find myself wishing for original vocal numbers: the recycling of existing pieces at times introduces irrelevant and distracting outside context.
I also wanted the production to have a longer running time, so that the glorious language – blending successfully with modern vernacular – has space to bloom, rather than occasionally being rushed through in bewildering rapid-fire delivery. But to want even more from this company after a whetting of the appetite is hardly a complaint. Please go buy tickets for Macbeth and support this fantastically gifted team, not only because they’ve put together a wonderfully vital, inventive and refreshing production, but also because the Fringe needs to have them return next year to showcase and expand upon their terrifically creative work.
