'Macbeth', known too as the Scottish play (have also heard Verdi's opera coined the Scottish opera), is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, with some of Shakespeare's most deservedly famous characters and lines/solliloquies. It is one of his most quotable/oft-quoted plays and one of his most accessible to study in schools, from personal experience and studying it twice (no other Shakespeare play had me studying it more than once at school, though 'Twelfth Night' was close).
This production of 'Macbeth' is another winner from Stratford. Not one of the best productions of the play seen or quite my definition of great, but it has plenty to love about it and the best aspects are outstanding. Being on the whole very well acted, staged and designed. Did have reservations about one crucial components in the early stages of the production that did improve quite a bit later on. Not an outstanding production, but a very, very good one.
It looks great for one thing. It is suitably darkly ominous without taking the austerity and grimness to extremes, so it never looks cheap or ugly. Having seen a few productions of 'Macbeth' that did do that and it was not a good sight at all. Liked the intimacy of the filming, though it does very well with not making the drama too static or too closed up. The music has a spookiness that fits very nicely, without being over-scored or too much like a cheap horror film. Shakespeare's text is as emotionally complex and powerful as ever, and it is no wonder as to why it is quoted so often. Plus it is very faithful and complete, which is a plus for those that don't like abridgements.
Furthermore, this 'Macbeth' is very well staged and full to the brim with atmosphere. The interaction between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth at its best, like when they conspire, scintillates and unsettles, while the combat manages to not be clumsy in the slightest and quite exciting even. Was surprised at how creative some of it was, and how so much was made of a small space. A big standout being the genuinely creepy and surprisingly grisly "double double toil and trouble" scene, have never seen that scene staged in this way. The staging still manages to be loyal to the text while having new touches done in good taste and not feeling irrelevant.
On the whole, the production is very well performed. Krystin Pellerin is an imperious and at her best blood-curdling Lady Macbeth, quite the manipulative schemer. We also have a noble Banquo, a poignant Macduff, a fun Porter and finally a Malcolm that isn't underwritten or easy to forget. Not to mention genuinely scary witches, rather than ones that are unintentionally silly, stereotypical or where the interpretations miss the point. They are very mysterious too.
Was a lot more mixed on Ian Lake as Macbeth, have to agree there sadly. To me, an uneven Macbeth (like Lake's) or a bad one is a big problem with any production of the play and it is thanks to everything else being so brilliant that the production still gets a very high score and review. Lake does indeed get a lot better later on, he is believable as a co-conspirator and as a more ambitious ruler (such as in the banquet scene, a scene staged better than most productions, and his reaction to Lady Macbeth's death). He is a lot less convincing though in the early stages of the play and pre-the murder where he shows a tortured side, where he comes over as uncomfortable and bland. Macbeth's conflicted feelings in the "is there a dagger I see before me" speech have been much more powerful in other productions, whereas it sounded not always certain.
Did think too that the momentum did dull in the early Macbeth solo monologues.
In summary, very good with many fantastic things but also an uneven Macbeth. 8/10.
