MacBeth Review: ‘Is this a dagger I see before me?’ No, it’s an excellent show.

I’ve said this before. Never is there a longer night than when you’re watching a badly done amateur dramatic show. In terms of the pain threshold of terrible theatre, it goes:

• Musicals (Pain rating: Being hungover on a hot coach on a windy road)
• Panto (Pain rating: Stubbing your toe while simultaneously getting jabbed in the eye by a fork)
• Shakespeare: (Pain rating: Your granddad’s funeral)

Putting on Shakespeare, particularly MacBeth, requires courage. If you get it wrong, you’re at risk of bludgeoning the audience to death with bad Scottish accents, boredom, and confusing ye olde English speak that leaves people wondering ‘what the Hell is going on?’. But, once again, with Tony Eccles at the helm, in collaboration with Parodos Theatre Company, and the likes of Tom Iain Dixon playing the title role, I felt nothing but confident.

I got to sit in on the final dress rehearsal and was immediately greeted by friendly cast members in awesome Shakespearean clothing with swords on their hips. It was like walking onto the set of ‘Role Models’. I loved it.

(PicsByCorraste – Stephen Corran)

From the second the show started it was dramatic. The set is simple but effective, giving National Theatre vibes, and the use of lighting and sound from beginning to end is second-to-none. Rather than taking a play and plonking it on the stage, Eccles turns it into an entirely holistic production – a neat package – with each aspect making the overall result bigger than the sum of its parts.

The use of lighting and sound is outstanding. These aspects combined with the use of the stage compliment each other wonderfully and ended up being some of my favourite aspects of the production. It was innovative and clever, raising the bar for future shows. Eccles uses simple background sounds for the night scenes to create suitable ambience, making it feel brilliantly atmospheric and realistic. Whereas the effective use of lighting in replace of props – for example, the witches’ cauldron – adds a level of class to the piece. Not only that, the use of lights from back stage and the wings during fight scenes heightens the drama powerfully, creating the essence of a fire-ridden battlefield just out of sight.

Good pace is important in any production, but essential in Shakespeare. The pace of both the cast in the delivery of their lines and the crew in charge of the off-stage sound/lighting prompts was excellent. I noted zero moments where it was clear one person was awkwardly waiting for another person’s line or a sound effect to continue, which always makes you very aware that you’re watching a play. The swiftness of the pace brought with it a confidence and made it easy to lose myself in the show.

Tom Iain Dixon IS MacBeth. Him and Lady MacBeth (played with brilliant gravitas by Gemma Varnom) are sensational. Not only in the conviction of their Scottish accents (common ground for Dixon after his Shrek days) but in their slow descent into black-eyed cruelty, paranoia, and madness. The transition is made even more impressive after seeing Dixon play so many likeable character roles in the past. I found myself struggling to take notes during the iconic MacBeth and Lady MacBeth monologues because I was transfixed. They did the big ones – ‘Is this a dagger I see before me’ and ‘Out, damned spot’ justice and then some.

The 26-strong cast does Eccles proud. Particularly when there are multiple people on stage at once. The attention to detail in what the background artists are doing adds depth and realism without drawing away from the characters at the forefront of the scene.

Now, I’m going to list some personal highlights of mine in a way that doesn’t give any spoilers:

• The Three Witches (played by Máire Stephens, Saoirse Coyle-Carroll and Lisa Davis). I was blown away by them, their movement, their unnerving cackles, and their whole look. I wanted to be them while also being low-key frightened by them. It was like looking at Bellatrix Lestrange merged with a dark Celtic version of the Sanderson Sisters. The costume and make up is incredible. They open the show and, all I’ll say is, THAT is the way to open a show.
• King Duncan’s (played by Alexander Duncan – a descendant I assume) wonderful use of iambic pentameter in the delivery of his lines. It made the words easy to understand. The sign of a good Shakespearean actor.
• Lady McDuff’s (played by Lisa Smith) scream. It is bloodcurdling and will haunt you until the grave.
• The Porter (played by Toby Smith). Brilliantly funny and another with excellent iambic pentameter delivery, making the lines easy to understand even when drunkenly slurred.
• A little relieving theatre magic (in more ways than one) that happens during The Porter’s monologue.
• The murderers. One in particular is so entrenched in psychotic vibes it felt like I was watching a Shakespearian version of The Joker.
• The use of real fire at one point.
• The fight scenes. It’s difficult to choreograph and perform a fight scene that doesn’t look naff. These ones kept me fixated instead of laughing.
• The thunder and lightning effects.
• Slick transitions. I’m a stickler for transitions. There’s nothing more awkwardly funny and distracting than a clunky transition. With minimal props, MacBeth’s were slick, the ending of each scene marked with the beat of a foreboding drum.

One thing I will say, it’s long. Very long. Because it’s Shakespeare. Maybe he was compensating for something by writing lengthy plays. So, those with small bladders, be warned.

I’ve often thought the Gaiety is too big for a straight play but this version of MacBeth proves me wrong. It does so by using the entire space – the stalls, the orchestra pit, the stage itself (obviously), contrasting levels with the heights of the set, the trapdoor – allowing the theatre to flex its muscles in a way that maximises its full potential and making the stage feel full even with minimal props. But it’s important to note, these aspects are used effectively, not in a tick box way in an attempt to be novel but in ways that add brilliantly to the story and heighten the audience’s viewing experience. This creative direction of the space along with mature performances and the clever use of sound and lighting create an energy on a par with the big musical productions that frequently tread the boards of the Gaiety and made the theatre buzz even though there were only 5 of us in the audience.

It’s the best straight play I’ve seen on the Island.

(PicsByCorraste – Stephen Corran)

MacBeth is running from 3rd-6th of April. Spread the word but utter not the name MacBeth in case bad luck befalls on you and tickets sell out. Get your tickets for the Scottish play here.