Network Theatre – until 25 October 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
The Acting Gymnasium’s Macbeth is a bold and powerful production of Shakespeare’s tragedy adapted and directed by Gavin McAlinden and inspired by Japanese horror, Chiaroscuro, and German Expressionism.
The story of Macbeth’s murderous ambition for the throne, fired by his wife and the witches’ prophecies, can be overcooked, but McAlinden and the cast portray the emotions and motivation of the characters expertly. Aryan Chavda plays Macbeth with a light touch in early scenes as the possibilities of his future are revealed, and Macbeth’s famous soliloquies are performed with an admirable stillness and intensity, until the final scenes where Chavda lets rip with frustration and despairing acceptance. Helen Probert’s Lady Macbeth leans into the German expressionism – her wide-eyed scheming a wonderful contrast to Macbeth’s hesitance. Her “unsex me now” soliloquy is mesmeric – her physicality blurring the lines between possession and psychosis and beginning a recurring movement in times of stress that betray her inner feelings that culminates in a beautifully understated but affecting sleepwalking speech. Charles Worthington is a passionate Macduff and Stefan Saintclair is a relaxed, laddish Banquo – chillingly controlled by the witches in a clever method to get his corpse off the stage which also raises questions about the witches’ intentions playing with these men.
The Japanese influence is excitingly obvious in the first scene with the witches’ (Aish Boyant, Carol Ratti, Eleri Siân Davies) makeup and otherworldly screams and movement, and Macbeth and Banquo’s medieval armour has a Samurai vibe while the black leather worn by the rest of the cast is a familiar trope in horror. However, the influence is purely visual apart from the witches, perhaps emphasising their mystical difference from the other characters.
The talented multinational cast give their all under McAlinden’s assured direction, describing the usual Shakespearean offstage battles and deaths with a measured gravitas that makes these sometimes-dreary exposition scenes more connected to the tight atmosphere onstage. Fight choreography is tight and impressive. The stage is black, with only a throne swathed in blood- coloured cloths, and Jack Hathaway’s lighting is a triumph, creating intimidating shadows and changing from harsh to soft light to emphasise the emotion of the scene. Joe Browning’s sound design, using James Jones’s original music, adds extra tension and keeps momentum during scene changes.
An entertaining and emotional production that chills and thrills.