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Macbeth Scott Theatre Wed 8 March In festivals of the calibre of our Festival Of Arts, there is (or should be) an expectation that some of the productions are going to make the audience work. 'Macbeth' is one of these, although, if you've been keeping up in class, most of the work was done prior. Stephen Dillane plays every character in this, one of the bard's best known tragedies. Standing upon a stage covered in sparkling black sand, beautifully lit by Benoit Beauchamp, this Travis Preston directed production is a brilliant exercise in stagecraft. While we all know that 'Macbeth' is a well written play, it is rare that we can concentrate so completely on the text, and still be enthralled by skilful characterisations. Dillane is a consummate performer, bringing life and depth to the characters through a number of devices. Most notable of these is Malcolm's stutter, and Lady Macbeth's French. Did it matter to an English speaking audience that she sometimes spoke in another language? To my mind, it should not matter if she had speaks in Calathumpian... the text is known, and let's face it, so are the vocal nuances and physical actions that accompany (for example) "out damn spot...". Through subtle lighting techniques (incorporating shadows against set designer Christopher Barreca's stark white flats) and the accompaniment of the Vinny Golia's minimalist music score, Dillane moves from character to character and scene to scene seamlessly. The audience is forced to use its imagination to visualise each character, much as we do when reading off the page or listening to a radio play. The difficulty of this production for audiences is that, in the absence of visual cues supplied by multiple actors playing individual roles, they have to concentrate (hard) on both the text and on Dillane's interpretations of each character, remembering which vocal or physical nuance belongs to whom. If you know the play this is not difficult, and the close on two hour performance is over much too soon. If you don't know the play - don't go. But you will have missed one of the most absorbing performances this Festival has to offer.  |
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