While The English Touring Theatre Company must be applauded for their boundless inventive efforts to keep Macbeth relevant for 2025 audiences, with an overload of creative ideas that miss rather than hit, one is reminded of the old theatre adage that “less is more.”
Amongst a glut of various UK productions of Shakespeare’s dark drama, Richard Twyman’s contemporary update of the Scottish play has undeniably proved to be popular and is arriving at the Lyric Hammersmith after touring successfully both nationally and internationally.
Twyman’s production attempts to follow the psychological journey of the Macbeths, and though not without its flaws, by doing so makes intrepid changes in the dramaturgy and staging of the classic.
The play opens with Lady Macbeth receiving a voice call from her husband as he boasts of his battle victory. Then CCTV is effectively used to record a surreptitious kitchen conversation where the Macbeths scheme their gory dispatch of the old king Duncan.
Shakespeare’s witches do not open the play, but the hags’ voices take possession of the Macbeths in the banquet scene, who then themselves recite the infamous wicked words “double, double toil and trouble.” There is also an effective appearance of Banquo’s bloody ghost on the CCTV, which jolts Macbeth from his assumed role of sparkling emcee for the evening.
The first few scenes of this production feel a little flat due to a lack of pacing. By the beginning of the second half, the play seems to have found its grounding but again struggles to keep momentum once the charismatic leading Lady Macbeth permanently exits the stage.
The spoken word is constantly evolving, and no one wants Shakespeare’s language to become fossilised in amber. However, it sometimes felt the Bard’s text had taken second place to Twyman’s many technological effects, and one of the consequences of this included lazy vocal delivery by certain performers.
Despite being aided by microphones, this rebranding of Macbeth was generally marred by some cast members rushing through monologues and throwing away key lines without any apparent clear understanding of the text, whilst at the same time displaying a disconcerting lack of diction.
Lois Chimimba is imposing as Lady Macbeth, Sophie Stone is brilliantly funny as the Porter, while Gabriel Akuwudike as Banquo and Daniel Hawksford as Duncan are also impressive in their roles.
Will Duke’s 3D “Frons Scenae” projection design is highly effective in using CCTV and personalised camera coverage to capture the personal journeys of the characters. This is bolstered by Tingying Dong’s atmospherically unnerving soundtrack.
Although this version of Macbeth may challenge traditionalists, the purpose of art is to provoke and push boundaries, and despite being a bit of a hotchpotch, this adventurous production certainly achieves that.
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