Review: Macbeth, The Musical, Edfringe
Paradise in Augustines (The Studio)
Scotland’s murderous king like you’ve never seen him before in this musical re-telling of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Summary
Rating
Excellent!
There can’t be many versions of The Scottish Play that have their audiences bopping along with the action. Fewer still can be as fun-loving as this characterful production from Bristol Shakespeare Festival. With Macbeth: The Musical, they bring us one hour of bard-tastic musical hijinks with great, energetic performances from a busy, hardworking cast of six. Marcus Carroll, as the doomed king, displays effortless vocal power and projection supported most effectively by his hand-washing wife, played enthusiastically by Hannah Filer. The wonderful witches were given a whole new Spiced Up life (geddit?) through clever characterisation and impressive vocals from Annabel Latham, Hannah Press and Naomi Richards. Not to forget the wonderfully lovable characterisation of King Duncan by Gemma Seren, who certainly wins the prize for being killed off the most during the production.
The song choices, though seemingly random initially, end up fitting the storyline wittily through some clever lyrical arrangements. Costumes and props are numerous, simple yet symbolic, and are an essential tool in aiding the impressively large amount of multi-rolling required to bring this epic tale to life.
Scenery is wonderfully home-made, which just adds to the comedy and tongue-in-cheek feel of the piece. Sound and lighting also complement the action well, creating the desired atmosphere when required. There are far too many quirky comic moments to recount here, but my particular favourite was a tower scene complete with miniaturised Lady Macbeth puppet meeting her fate by jumping from a ramshackle cardboard turret.
Uplifting and feel good, and perhaps not one for the serious Shakespeare sorts then, but for this musical theatre fan, this rip-roaring rendition was everything I needed to be entertained for an hour, and the children in the audience sounded like they loved it too.
Directed by: Justin Sathers
Written and produced by: Rachel Waterhouse
Macbeth: The Musical plays at Edfringe until Saturday 9 August.
