Review: Macbeth, Southwark Playhouse

Review: Macbeth, Southwark Playhouse

Summary

Rating

60

Good

An equivocating, Marmite production. Some will love, others will hate.

Flabbergast Theatre have created an extraordinary piece of visual theatre with this version of Macbeth; visceral, often exciting and confusing, with a skilled and committed cast. It’s truly remarkable in many ways, but for some, perhaps not necessarily for the right reasons.

The performance is completely bizarre from the pre-show onwards, where the actors stand covered in dried mud, miming a masque of the forthcoming story as the audience enters. The set in the Large at Southwark Playhouse is, like the actors, wrapped in sackcloth; the costumes are equipped with oversized kilts, suggestive of the clothing that does not fit the Scottish King – a giant’s robe on a dwarfish thief. And suggestion is key to approaching this production.

I quickly found that I had to drop all expectations of the Macbeth that I know and instead allow the peculiar performance to wash over me, receiving it more as an understanding of the protagonist’s experience than a telling of his story. The action is highly physical and interpretative, underscored with an evocative auditory backdrop where the whole feeds the senses. It feels like an enactment of Macbeth’s distempered mind; a fever dream, where experiential impact is prioritised over textual content and reality is constantly questioned. His world is depicted through sensation, imagery and interpretation, sometimes in a form of shorthand. The porter’s appearance, for example, is just a comic routine, not even attempting to use Shakespeare’s words, but nevertheless enacting the scene’s intent. Blood is dispensed in image form; red wine from a box literally soaking Macbeth (Henry Maynard) as he is intoxicated by his power, and it occasionally sprays in mistily into the air, hanging over everything.

There are some amazing performances from a talented ensemble cast. Group pieces are meticulously choreographed and executed by these skilled actor/musicians, with exquisite physical theatre that uses sculpted tableaux to great effect. Physical clowning work from Dale Wylde in particular is mightily impressive, detailed and engaging. The sound and fury of the production is magnificent, with drumming and unusual percussion at times thrilling and deeply unsettling.

Sadly, there’s going to be a ‘but’ here. From within the maelstrom of experiential reproduction, the fundamental Shakespearean verse struggles to rise through the nightmare and sometimes gets frustratingly lost. Lady Macbeth’s (Briony O’Callaghan) ‘Out damned spot’ speech in particular felt overwhelmed by the mayhem. Indeed, if this were your first experience of this play on stage you might struggle to recognise its origin. Additionally, the production tries to draw the audience in with interactions, including the distribution of party hats, but they seem a little forced, with the intention not entirely clear.

That all said, is it pretentious tosh? Does it speak more of the company showcasing its talent than it does of the classic drama, losing any comment the text might have on our modern world under excesses of theatricality? It’s hard to say. Some audience members are going to love it for what it is: an impressive, imaginative performance, flaws and all. Others will think it’s confusing, hard work and not Shakespeare’s play. The production is equivocal, like the three witches. For my part, there is much that I really loved about this Macbeth but I left feeling a little unsatisfied. I’m certainly going to look out for more of Flabbergast’s work in the future though.

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Produced by Flabbergast Theatre
Director and Designer: Henry Maynard
Movement: Matej Matejka
Musical Arrangements: Adam Clifford
Lighting Designer: Rachel Shipp

Macbeth runs at Southwark Playhouse (Borough) until 8 April. Further information and bookings can be found here.