Ellie & I used to watch plays all the time. I remember one occasion when we saw one matinee in the afternoon, then walked straight from that theatre to one across town to watch another play. It wasn’t unusual for us to see three or four plays a week. Back in the days of thriving thespians & thoroughly thrilling, thought-provoking theatre productions.
IS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?
For several years now, we’ve barely managed to make the effort of going to the theatre once every other month. And it was nearly always disappointing. We’ve come to cherish the times when a play turns out to be okay’ish, that’s how bad it got.
All pics of performance, incl. feature pic, (c) Matt Humphrey, else (c) BerkeleySqB.
25 QUID TO SEE RALPH FIENNES? COUNT US IN.
So when my wife, who’s our ‘events manager’, found out about this year’s Macbeth production with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma last July, she immediately bought tickets for £25 per person.
It sounded exciting. Two great actors in the lead roles. Ellie has always loved anything with Fiennes in it. I really started to like him after watching ‘In Bruges’. And who doesn’t like everyone’s darling Indira Varma.
UNUSUAL VENUES IN ALL FOUR LOCATIONS
The setting in all four locations (first Liverpool, then Edinburgh; our venue: London; and finally: Washington, D.C.) was going to be unusual and exciting. Customised, hangar-like environments, that would seem more suitable for a major rave party than a Shakespeare play. The marketing made it sound like this production was going to be a bit like Kenneth Branagh’s tour de force in a deconsecrated church in Manchester, more than ten years ago. Alright.
CENTRAL LOCATION: 5MINS WALK FROM CANADA WATER
When we arrived at the fairly central London location, Dock X in Canada Water, a five-minute walk from the Jubilee line tube station of the same name, our expectations seemed to be met. Huge warehouse. No heating we could notice. Bit of the vibe of an illegal bare-knuckle bout.
A BURNT-OUT CAR WRECK AND DEBRIS
A few moments later a siren went off to indicate that the spectators are now welcome to enter the auditorium. You pass by a large kind of ‘ante room’ where smoke seeps from the debris, a burnt-out car wreck, a few dislocated wires and pipes.
Once you’re through the gate to the main stage and seating area, there are actors dressed up as soldiers, lurking around, looking sinister.
NOT MUCH LEG ROOM
The leg room is on the shorter side, even by London standards. This was particularly unlucky, because the elderly gentleman in the seat in front of me was a bit jumpy. Every time something on the stage gave him a little fright, he pushed the back of his plastic seat back with full force and straight into my kneecaps. (I’m freakishly tall at 200cm/6’7”.) In the end my wife permitted me to use part of her leg space in order to avoid permanent damage.
The exit routes and dead-end half-aisles around the corners, which are open to audience members during the interval, remain closed at the beginning. This means that a substantial number of people have to squeeze past a dozen or more others to get to their seat.
BLACK FRIDAY VIBES
We were surprised that the start of the play was only delayed by ten minutes. Thankfully, theatre aficionados are willing to trample on anyone’s foot and elbow their way through to their seat, if faced with the threat of missing out on a performance. We were distinctly reminded of Black Friday.
THE THREE WITCHES
And then it began. The three witches, played by Danielle Fiamanya, Rebecca Scroggs, and Lucy Mangan, have been described by other reviewers as having been ‘turned into war refugees.’ To me that did not seem obvious. More like one possible interpretation. It would of course explain why every last bit of wondrous witchcraft, magical madness, and wholesome horror was lacking on stage.
I remember Macbeth productions where my wife put her hands over her eyes and leaned into me. In this instance, we quietly looked at each other with an expression of amused ridicule. What was going on here?
A WARY WARRIOR
Fiennes’ character was unusual in a similar way. Nothing of the fierceness of a battle-hardened soldier. This Macbeth is a troubled, cautious, wary warrior, who mainly speaks softly. Body posture, gestures and movements are almost looking clownlike at times in their awkwardness, timidness, and lack of intent and purpose.
SOMEONE FIX THE DAMN TV…
During the second half, following the interval, the play’s regicidal antihero’s moves become more frequent and forceful. Yet he still looks soft and lost. The madness is not mental and all-encompassing, not furious and frightening, it’s more like watching granddad having one of his fits because the TV isn’t working.
…AND SWITCH OFF THEIR PHONE
Less than twenty minutes into the play, the mobile phone of a young gentleman a few seats away from us went off. Twice. At least he busied the call almost immediately. Both times. Once, during a rendition of My Fair Lady in Saint Petersburg, we had not been so lucky. A lady a few metres away from us, took several calls that each lasted for more than a minute.
CONVINCING, COLD-HEARTED COMPANION
Varma’s acting is right up there with the best. Even though, she, like Fiennes, doesn’t add anything exciting or entirely new to the role. Her character’s move from manipulative, strong, evil, but loving and caring, to disaffected, resigned and cold-hearted companion is convincing. The chemistry between Fiennes and Varma is amazing. Ben Turner as Macduff and Steffan Rhodri’s Banquo also deserve special mentions.
A PLAYBOY DANDY KING
Keith Fleming’s King Duncan is a disappointment: a playboy dandy with the gravitas and charisma of a marshmallow, that’s been left in the fire for just a tad too long.
DIRECTOR GODWIN, SET & COSTUME DESIGNER BRADSHAW
Simon Godwin is a safe pair of hands and the production he directs is flawless and sleek, as anticipated. The same could be said about Frankie Bradshaw’s set & costume design. However, considering the marketing campaign and the potential that comes with a big budget and the unusual venue, it felt more like Much Ado About Nothing than Macbeth. The strobe lighting, smoke and haze are effective.
ADAPTATION BY EMILY BURN
Emily Burns’s work in slightly modifying and abridging the play was gratifyingly restrained. That said, the fact that she uses the modern version of the play as basis, does not sit well with me. Probably largely, because I’m a dinosaur. I never understood why anyone would prefer a straight-forward, boring line like ‘Is This A Dagger Which I See In Front Of Me’ over the celebrated original line ‘Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me’. Removing the porter scene, on the other hand, didn’t cause us any pain.
SHORT & SWEET
At 2h 30m (incl. interval) this production of Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is still slightly above average in length. Compared with other Macbeth versions. Contrasted with other plays in general, it is rather short. Much to my dismay, it seems that nowadays it is almost impossible to find plays under three hours.
HOW MUCH DO THE TICKETS COST
Tickets for this Macbeth production were initially selling for £15 to £234. When I checked today, the cheapest tickets were £85, but tickets are still available for most days. The last performance, before the play moves to Washington D.C., will be on 30 March. Tickets for the Washington performances are currently sold out. However, more tickets will be released in late March.
LATECOMERS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED, NO CLOAKROOM
Please note that latecomers will not be admitted and the venue does not have a cloakroom. All your belongings will have to stay with you. You won’t be allowed in, if you have a large bag with you.
UKRAINE & SUDAN
Before the play kicked off in Liverpool, Fiennes talked about how the play has now been turned into a reflection on the madness happening in Ukraine and Sudan. Unfortunately, I did not get that memo. In my opinion, much more could have been done to accentuate this point.
WE’VE SEEN WORSE. (AND BETTER.)
Out of the three Macbeth productions London has seen in under a year, Simon Godwin’s does not stand out. Out of the 25 or so Macbeth performances I’ve seen (it’s my favourite play!), this one barely makes it into the top half. And I’ve seen horrifyingly bad ones, such as a rendition by Oxford University students in a public park during a thunderstorm, four years ago. (The weather wasn’t their fault. But boy oh boy. Those guys and girls need to give up acting. Hopefully someone will give them a job as Prime Minister or Lord or something.)
CONCLUSION
If it weren’t for the fact that watching world class actors is always a thrill, the rating would be lower: 3.25 out of 5.
Looking for more theatre reviews? Check out my posts about Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap, Toneelgroep’s rendition of Obsession at the Barbican, and Wish List, the zero hour contract play, at the Royal Court. You’ll also find other posts about art and culture here, such as the one about Frieze London, the Tapies exhibition at Nahmad Projects, or the Ryoji Ikeda Exhibition at 180 The Strand.
