Macbeth

Synopsis

The Scottish Play - theatrical types consider saying its name to be unlucky! Thrust into power by his overwhelming desires and an over ambitious wife, Macbeth finds his only security is to murder and murder again. From "When shall we three meet again" to "is this a dagger I see before me" this is a powerful Shakespearean drama.

Our Review:

16 November 2009

It’s unusual to come out of a production of a Shakespearian tragedy after two hours (105 minutes playing time), even if the play in question is Macbeth, by a margin the shortest of the tragedies. However, Gareth Tudor Price, re-working his 2006 production, knows what he is doing, presenting a fast-moving atmospheric thriller rather than a political or psychological drama.

A surprising amount of the text survives, though characters disappear wholesale. The Witches are missing, though many of their lines remain; Donalbain is reduced to a passing reference; three Scots thanes and Macduff’s entire family end up on the cutting-room floor; the English contingent makes no appearance. Surprisingly the often tiresome English scene between Malcolm and Macduff survives in large part; even more surprisingly, well played by Frazer Hammill and Robert Hudson, it is highly effective. The murder of the Macduffs is cut totally and many scenes are severely reduced, the invad...

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Latest User Review

beryl - 6 December 2009:

Left at the interval almost fell asleep...

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