224 replies to this topic

[Steve]

I went and saw this last night and was not impressed at all I'm afraid. I'm not a Shakespeare fan and have never seen a production of Macbeth before, so I had no idea about the plot. On the whole, I still have no idea about the plot! The staging in some warehouse full of people with very broad Scottish accents (I really couldn't understand most of it because of the accents!) was really odd. By the end of the first act, some old guy in a trench coat had been killed for some reason, but that was all that had happened after 90 mins... The constant flickering lights and electricity noises became a huge distraction. I did think James Mcavoy was really good, but the rest of the cast weren't. His wife made odd acting choices and I kept thinking she had forgotten her lines. And I have no idea what the 3 women in gas masks (who were totally unintelligible) were doing at all. Won't ever bother going to see Macbeth again I don't think and really wouldn't recommend this production unless you know the show really well!

[paplazaroo]

I think it finished about 10.15

[paplazaroo]

Steve, on 13 February 2013 - 11:22 AM, said:

I went and saw this last night and was not impressed at all I'm afraid. I'm not a Shakespeare fan and have never seen a production of Macbeth before, so I had no idea about the plot. On the whole, I still have no idea about the plot! The staging in some warehouse full of people with very broad Scottish accents (I really couldn't understand most of it because of the accents!) was really odd. By the end of the first act, some old guy in a trench coat had been killed for some reason, but that was all that had happened after 90 mins... The constant flickering lights and electricity noises became a huge distraction. I did think James Mcavoy was really good, but the rest of the cast weren't. His wife made odd acting choices and I kept thinking she had forgotten her lines. And I have no idea what the 3 women in gas masks (who were totally unintelligible) were doing at all. Won't ever bother going to see Macbeth again I don't think and really wouldn't recommend this production unless you know the show really well!

Lol I'd love it if you could write a synopsis of all shakespeare plays for the back of future prints, Romeo and Juliet 'some guy likes a girl and they both die somehow', King Lear 'this bloke makes a daft choice and gives his countries to some girls'

Although I agree with you on lady Macbeth who was the weakest of the bunch.

[xy_whitefaerie]

RedRose, on 13 February 2013 - 12:39 AM, said:

Does anybody know how many day seats are available and if you can get one or two?

You can buy a maximum of 2 days seats per person according to the website. Not sure how many are available though.

[KevinUK]

Finished about 10:20/30

[Lynette]

Steve, on 13 February 2013 - 11:22 AM, said:

I went and saw this last night and was not impressed at all I'm afraid. I'm not a Shakespeare fan and have never seen a production of Macbeth before, so I had no idea about the plot. On the whole, I still have no idea about the plot! The staging in some warehouse full of people with very broad Scottish accents (I really couldn't understand most of it because of the accents!) was really odd. By the end of the first act, some old guy in a trench coat had been killed for some reason, but that was all that had happened after 90 mins... The constant flickering lights and electricity noises became a huge distraction. I did think James Mcavoy was really good, but the rest of the cast weren't. His wife made odd acting choices and I kept thinking she had forgotten her lines. And I have no idea what the 3 women in gas masks (who were totally unintelligible) were doing at all. Won't ever bother going to see Macbeth again I don't think and really wouldn't recommend this production unless you know the show really well!

Your comments, Steve, should be sent to every director in the business. Shakespeare would be doing the proverbial turn in his grave. Don't give up on him. Just follow the punters here and make a note of the good stuff.

[KevinUK]

No one should give up on Shakespeare - when its done good it can be brilliant. Spacey as RIII is maybe the best I've seen so far.

[wickedgrin]

Yes directors "love" Shakespeare as they can put their "spin" on it ( as in this case clearly) and thereby making it completely unintelligable! Clearly this is a production to avoid! The witches in gas masks - oh dear.

[mallardo]

Don't jump to conclusions now - it might be wonderful.  The Donmar's Julius Caesar sounded off-putting too and it turned out to be a revelation.

[Backdrifter]

Lynette, on 13 February 2013 - 04:03 PM, said:

Your comments, Steve, should be sent to every director in the business. Shakespeare would be doing the proverbial turn in his grave. Don't give up on him. Just follow the punters here and make a note of the good stuff.

I disagree except for the 'try more Shakespeare' bit, but not the reference to being guided by people on here. It's unfortunate Steve didn't enjoy this production, we all want to like the stuff we see, but there's nothing in his comments that would or should be of any use to directors. The thing I love about Shakespeare plays is the wide range of interpretations that are applied to them. That not all of them work for all of us is incidental. You choose to believe Shakespeare would be turning in his grave, while I choose to believe he would be pleased at the breadth of treatment his work is still receiving 400 years on, and that we weren't just attempting to recreate the practices of his time.

But yes I'd agree - Steve, see Macbeth again sometime, a different production that will hopefully work better for you. It's a great play.