Theater Review: 'Macbeth'

NEW YORK--Dripping with blood, brilliantly told, and with a stellar cast led by Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood, the English transfer of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, now at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is a veritable feast for the eyes, ears, and dramatic palate. In ancient Scotland (though the play is given an Eastern European cold-war setting (late 1950—early 1960s), King Duncan (Paul Shelley) has emerged victorious in his latest battle, due in no small part to the valiant deeds of his loyal general Macbeth (Stewart).

On their way home, Macbeth and his friend Banquo (Martin Turner) meet three witches (Sophie Hunter, Poly Frame, Niamh McGrady), who make several mysterious prophecies, including one that states Macbeth will become king. When one of their predictions becomes true (the awarding of a noble title), he begins to think that perhaps even greater things are in store.

While Macbeth may be willing to let matters play themselves out, his wife Lady Macbeth (Fleetwood) has no intentions of waiting. Much younger than her husband, with a thirst for power and position, she almost immediately begins planning to remove Duncan and place Macbeth on the throne, literally willing herself to become a person of pure evil in order to do what must be done.

When circumstances bring Duncan and his sons to Macbeth's castle, the stage is set for murder and betrayal. Very soon Duncan is dead, and his sons have fled for their lives, leaving Macbeth to be crowned king.

However, once he has started down this slippery slope, Macbeth finds he must keep killing in order to remove those who pose a threat to him. He also learns the dangers of believing too literally in prophecies, ones that may make him appear to be invincible, but which may, in actuality, be leading him to disaster.

Perhaps most interesting is the way the psyches of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are portrayed. Macbeth, although a worthy soldier, is also something of a milquetoast, unsure when it comes to making personal decisions and terribly nervous when it comes to committing murder. (In once sequence he even takes a valuable piece of evidence with him after a crime, leaving his exasperated and much more coldly calculating and determined wife to "clean up the mess" as it were.)

Yet as the play progresses, it is Macbeth who becomes harder, crueler, and more evil, not only by killing but through the dismissive ways he treats those around him.

It is his wife who quickly becomes wracked with repentance, desperately trying to scrub the blood off her hands (and her soul), which will never truly come clean. Stewart and Fleetwood do a masterful job in the roles, portraying outwardly decent people whose inner ambitions lurk just below the surface—desires that run gleefully amok given the opportunity.

Just as important are the excellent directorial choices made by Rupert Goold, such as a banquet scene where Macbeth sees a vision of someone he recently ordered murdered. Part of the scene is played twice, the first time with him actually seeing the ghost, then via the eyes of others present where Macbeth begins shouting at empty air for seemingly no apparent reason.

All the while Lady Macbeth is vainly attempting to explain away her husband's actions and keep the dinner going as planned.

Another nice touch is the use of hospital and electrical sound effects, as well as rear video projections, with the sequences involving the three witches, giving these scenes a sort of Frankenstein feel, with questions of fate, control and prophecy taking center stage. It leaves Macbeth to wonder, does one fight what is foretold, dismissing it as a simple fortune telling, or is it something deeper and darker, which cannot be so lightly treated?

The entire cast is top-notch, with each role making an important contribution to the sprawling canvas of the story. Some of the standouts include Turner as the loyal Banquo; Michael Feast as Macduff, who will eventually lead a revolt against Macbeth, first out of loyalty and patriotism, and finally out of vengeance; and Christopher Patrick Nolan as Seyton, a vulgar (and quite expressive) porter. Also very good is Suzanne Burden as Lady Macduff.

The technical credits are wonderful, the lighting by Howard Harrison, video and projection design by Lorna Heavey, and the superb sound design by Adam Cork.

Also in the cast are Scott Handy, Ben Carpenter, Mark Rawlings, Tim Treloar, Bill Nash, Emmett White, Christopher Knott, Hywel John, Gabrielle Piacentile, Jacob Rosenbaum, Phoebe Keeling VanDusen, and Oliver Birch.

Macbeth
A Chichester Theatre Festival Production
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton Street
Tickets: 718-636-4100 or www.BAM.org
Running Time: Approximately Three Hours
Closes: March 22, 2008
Reopens: Macbeth will be moving to Broadway following the conclusion of its run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The show will begin performances at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre on March 29th and run through May 24th.

Judd Hollander is the New York Correspondent for the London newspaper The Stage.