Macbeth, the classic tale of mysticism, murder, and revenge. It is a story by the great William Shakespeare, and probably ranks in one of my favorite 3 pieces of writing by The Bard (along side Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream). So on Saturday I was invited along to go and watch the RSC's latest performance of the 17th Century tale, set in the modern day, in Stratford, and my first thoughts...Wow.

I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the plot of the show, I imagine that the majority of you will know the basic premise without me needing to explain it to you (and if you don't, then I'll ask you "What are you doing here? Go read it!"). The performance stayed faithful to the original text, which is to be expected of the RSC (being The Royal Shakespeare Company and all), and despite the modern setting they used Shakespearean English for almost the entire performance. The performance kept the emphasis on the text itself, leading the audience to follow the words from the writer himself, as we can assume he intended them to be heard. 

First thing's first, Macbeth himself. I have always liked Christopher Eccleston's acting since I first saw him as 'The Doctor' in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, and have yet to be disappointed in his other works. Christopher gives a superb performance as the mad ruler himself, and combining this with the fantastic Lady Macbeth, portrayed by Niamh Cusack, it was a sight to behold. Their chemistry on stage was exactly spot on for the two roles, and brought the audience into their devious plotting.

As for the rest of the cast, they were all just as devoted to their roles, and gave some absolutely amazing performances. I wish I could go through and name every single member of the cast, but I simply don't have time to talk about them all as much as they deserve. I could see that every single one of them was giving their all in the performance, from the young witches, with an aura reminding me of the twins in The Shining, to the mysterious caretaker, adding mystery scrawling chalk lines all over the place and humor eating biscuits on set. Every single actor gave a great performance, which is an incredible feat in itself, and just shows how much talent there was on stage that night!

The performance itself utilized a series of special effects as well, using a balcony and screens to separate different scenes and locations in a clear way for the audience. There was also the use of different materials being poured over the stage, used to add to the different settings and locations which were being shown to the audience, particularly during the mystical portions of the story. Another wonderful effect was the usage of fake blood. This was used carefully in different scenes, which add to the realism of the performance without going overboard in its application.
The only downside to this was, because I was sat in the far right side of the ground floor, I wasn't able to see all of the projection and action on the raised area as clearly as I wanted to. This however did not detract from the immersive and encapsulating nature of the performance itself.

Overall, I would highly recommend this show to anyone who enjoys classic literature, great acting, and theater which captures your mind and emotions for an evening! So go on, book some tickets, and experience it for yourself.

Until next time.

Tim

Plot: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇      Performance: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇       Overall: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇

Image Credits: image 1, image 2