Review: Macbeth, Bristol Old Vic – ‘A brilliant example of how to update Shakespeare for modern audiences’

There are two schools of thought when it comes to Shakespeare. On the one side, there are those that believe that every word is canonically sacred, to be performed precisely as it has been handed down by previous generations.

On the other side stand those who argue for a more flexible approach to the Bard’s work. Who suggest that the compilers of the First Folio – the fountainhead of every work of Shakespeare’s we know – simply gathered together various performance scripts and included everything they found in all of them to be on the safe side. Who point out that Shakespeare was a jobbing theatre maker who, just like creators of plays and musicals today, would have adapted and tweaked his shows to adapt to changing times, different venues and the fluctuating tastes of various audiences. Theatre company ETT are quite definitely in the latter camp.

The warning lights for Shakespeare purists start flashing the moment the houselights go down. Instead of three witches gathered on a blasted heath, the opening scene features Lady Macbeth (Laura Elsworthy) fretting restlessly in a modern-day penthouse apartment, waiting for news from her husband which comes in the form of a video message. As a result, the Weird Sisters’ predictions that Macbeth (Mike Noble) will be King of Scotland and Banquo (Brian Lonsdale) will be a father of kings are discussed by allusion rather than being set out right at the start of the story.

And it works. Cloudy references to matters still to be fully revealed are familiar to any viewer of contemporary TV or movie dramas where timeline jumps and an initial sense that one has only a vague idea of what’s happening are pretty much de rigeur.

And as with those contemporary dramas, the details are then revealed at a crucial moment to allow the audience to make full sense of what’s been happening, as the witches’ predictions are unveiled in a flashback for Macbeth immediately after he has slaughtered Duncan (Ross Waiton).

There are many other liberties taken with the sequencing of the text, and it makes for a much punchier storytelling with a definite modern edge. There is also plenty more in this production to lend a contemporary feel to a +400-year-old work, from the extensive use of video imagery – including a magical video trick that makes Banquo’s ghost appear at the feast – to the fact that this is probably the only production of Macbeth you’ll ever to see which includes a karaoke rendition of Baccarat’s 70s disco classic Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.

There is also a goodly helping of present-day horror movie vibes, from the sometimes grotesque violence  – the asphyxiation of Macduff’s wife (Coral Sinclair) with a plastic bag is particularly horrific – to the visual referencing of The Shining (another story of a man driven to madness by supernatural apparitions).

Some of the updates lend little added value to the production, such as the aforementioned karaoke and the decision to have Lady Macbeth scrubbing at an imagined stain on the carpet during her ‘Out damned spot’ soliloquy instead of sticking with the original – and more logical – suggestion that she’s trying to wash Duncan’s blood off her hands.

But ETT’s Macbeth is nonetheless undeniably a visual feast, a brilliant example of how to update Shakespeare for modern audiences. If it has a weakness, it is that it gives too much weight to the visual and neglects the spoken.

While Macbeth is indeed a gripping psychological horror story, a tale of ambition, murder and madness, it is also a play of words. Powerful, often beautiful words. And in this production, those words are sadly too often lost.

The delivery of the verse is very variable (although Bristol audiences can enjoy a tingle of parochial pride that some of the best verse speaking comes from local actor Hanora Kamen, who gives a polished performance despite having been drafted in to play Lennox just 48 hours earlier).

But more distressingly, far too many of both Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s lines are lost, whole speeches reduced to the occasional word heard intermittently. It’s hard to tell whether this is a problem with their delivery or with their microphones, but Noble undoubtedly has a tendency to mutter and deliver his lines through closed teeth which makes whole chunks of the text virtually incomprehensible. Too often, it feels like watching a Christopher Nolan film.

Overall, ETT’s Macbeth is a really interesting take on a Shakespeare classic which is totally plugged in to 21st century media styles and is well worth seeing for that reason alone. If they could just get the language delivery right as well, it would be brilliant. Unless you’re a Shakespeare purist, that is – for those passionately devoted to the canon, it’s a one-way ticket to apoplexy.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth (age recommendation 12+) is at Bristol Old Vic from January 25-February 10 at 7.30pm, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Thursday and Saturday (no shows on Sunday). Ticket availability is limited; check www.bristololdvic.org.uk for details.

All photos: The Other Richard

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