Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Thu 20 July
****
After mixed reviews of Spamalot and The Vicar of Dibley I was slightly apprehensive about how Everyman Theatre were going to tackle the Scottish play. The festival itself is a cosy experience, set in a DIY amphitheatre under a canvas with tents for food (courtesy of the Cardiff favourite Grazing Shed) and drink also in the thespian campsite complex. As the show begins it’s clear that the audience shouldn’t be expecting classically done Shakespeare as a van drives onto the scene following a bloody battle. It appeared to be set in the 1960s (although exactly when is anyone’s guess as the music kept jumping between decades) with most of the cast stylishly dressed to resemble the mob. Shortly after, we’re introduced to the Three Witches who are, although admittedly creepy, a little too campy and overly done at times. This does change later on and all their performances were well done with very clever direction and set design adding to the characters’ eerie feeling on which much of the darkness of the play relies.
The titular character and his wife, Lady Macbeth, were both fantastic; Macbeth’s fall from grace and Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness were both very well portrayed, with the two portraying the vulnerable sides of the characters just as well as they did their murderous ambition. Macduff’s role was also very well done, bringing his pain and lust for revenge to life. On the whole, the production captured the eeriness of the play very well and the updated style was mostly effective. However, the choice of music was genuinely bizarre at times with parts that sounded like Sandstorm and Thriller very much distracting from an otherwise well thought out piece and turning what should have been tense battles into gimmicky play fighting.
The use of the set was particularly impressive, with the Weird Sisters ushering the dead off stage through bloodied plastic curtains as if in an abattoir. The rain on the night not only added to the chilling feel of many of the scenes, but I’m sure it made many of the cast feel very chilly indeed too. In short, it was well done but gimmicky elements did spoil a few parts.
LUKE OWAIN BOULT