Macbeth

Bell Shakespeare has again freshened up an old classic, while delighting in Shakespeare’s resounding words and colourful characters. Peter Evans directs a cohesive cast that can transform from individuals briefly sketching narrative movement to an emotional, imaginative circle of ancient mystery and witchcraft.

Hazem Shammas shows the range of Macbeth’s emotional arc. Jessica Tovey has created an ambitious yet mentally vulnerable Lady Macbeth, and her soliloquoy chills the blood. The witches played by Isabel Burton, Eleni Cassimatis and Rebecca Attanasio are strong and powerful women, casting magic into the ether with their clear voices and circling widdershins to increase power.

This setting is around the 1920s, post-WWI, with costume design by the creative Anna Tregloan. The quick donning of an army great coat or the doffing of a cap or a crown allows the audience to fill in the gaps, to feel part of the creation of the play is in one’s own mind. Similarly, lighting effects by Damien Cooper and sound design and music by Max Lyandvert are significant, with tones of red saturating the stage and the players at times, and soundscapes adding to skin-prickling intensity.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Photographer: Brett Boardman