Rose Theatre, Kingston – until 23 March 2024
Reviewed by Emily Smith
3***
Knock. Knock. Knock. Who’s there?
The answer is Zinnie Harris, with her adaptation of the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, playing at the Rose Theatre in Kingston before it departs for runs in New York and Edinburgh. Harris’s script for Macbeth (an undoing) moves frequently between traditional Shakespearean text and modern-day language; I’m pretty sure Shakespeare didn’t use swear words, nor did he write ‘You’re the sexiest queen’ – but I may be wrong! Whilst this infusion of humour did raise some laughs from the audience, there were a few times I felt it overstepped and was unnecessary. Throughout the performance several actors break the fourth wall, directly addressing the audience and adding an element of humour to this otherwise dark play.
Harris’s adaptation relies on a basic understanding of the original play; there were times where it was easy to get lost in the narrative that seemed to divert at various tangents, not quite coming together in a cohesive story. Lady Macbeth (Nicole Cooper) is portrayed as a woman who loves her husband, so much that she takes the reigns (pun intended) while her husband is incapacitated by madness. At one point, she is referred to as ‘Sir’ and her aides fail to see her as ‘Lady’; is this because men are so accustomed to seeing a man in a position of power, or is she also fragmenting, and this is in her imagination? It’s not clear. In the final scenes, as she searches for a clean dress only to find they are all soaked in blood, before cleaning the one she is wearing, there is an eerie replication of an earlier scene where Macbeth (Adam Best) is washing his hands in the same bucket – the same madness you may ask? Again, this isn’t clear cut. Perhaps this is the intention, to leave the audience asking questions, but for me there are too many. Harris’s Lady Macbeth is a woman who has a tenacious ferocity and focus, killing many to protect her family, yet who is consumed by an underlying sadness at losing five children of her own.
Tom Piper’s set design is simple but clever – a wooden frame and bare stage, with props used to convey a change of scenery, followed by large, mirrored panels manoeuvred into position which added to the dark and ominous atmosphere. Whilst the fog machine was working overtime, perhaps as expected in such a play, it did add to the ambience given the simple staging. The functioning tap on stage was also cleverly used, turning from water to blood, depending on the scene, adding an element of authenticity to the production. The scenes which involved fighting were also very believable, thanks to Kaitlin Howard. This being said, there were some mishaps with the props throughout, and with actors delivering lines facing into the stage, it did mean projection was sometimes an issue.
Nicole Cooper delivered a captivating performance as Lady Macbeth and was rightly the stand-out performance of the night. She delivered her lines eloquently and with emotional conviction; the audience could feel her determination then desperation as she spiralled into madness. Whilst I struggled with Adam Best’s delivery, his supporting-role performance as Macbeth, was convincingly brilliant … and a little scary at times! Mention should also be given to the entire cast who deliver a polished performance with emotional depth where needed, and humour to offer light relief.
Overall, this production offers the gore and blood that Harris’s script is convinced we all want, yet fails to deliver on a cohesive story. It is saved perhaps by the talent of it’s cast, especially Nicole Cooper, and the clever staging.