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:

Michael Coveney - 4 November 2010

Watching this impressively drilled Macbeth from the Wroclaw-based Song of the Goat company is like watching a very good drama school production with extra special lighting and musical effects.

By which I mean there’s a seamless, poetic whole to the eighty-minute work – “organic” is the term one cannot avoid – without the rough, bright edge of flashing, individual talent or engulfing sense of tragedy.

It’s far less exciting, for instance, than Lucy Bailey’s recent revival at the Globe, which re-investigated the evil spirit of the play as a setting for some fine tragic performances, not as a definition of them.

The first surprise is that the text is spoken in English, distilled and channeled through the actors, who claim no special hierarchy in relation to each other (which is somewhat self-defeating in a play about a regicide, a ruined country and political power).

The witches’ incantati...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

Gareth James - 16 November 2010:

Five years ago, I was blown away by a Polish theatre company called Song of the Goat who took Edinburgh by storm with an indescribable but beautiful show of graceful organic movement with polyphonic singing. The opportunity to see them again has been a long time coming and this time it’s a version of Macbeth (I’d call it ‘scenes from Macbeth’) with dialogue in English, but the same physicality, movement and singing. I think they are one of those companies, like Kneehigh and Punchdrunk, where your first time may always be the best, but it was still a thoroughly original and enjoyable ride nonetheless. It’s so hard to describe what they do that I’ve dried up!...

Read more and add your own review