I’ve always been obsessed with the porter in Macbeth. What an oddity he is, stumbling, exploding, ambling, running at full pelt onto the stage – depending on which production you’re seeing – and rambling on about equivocators and the primrose way. He either sets the tone of a production like no other character can, or just sticks out like a sore thumb, as if dumped in the middle of something he has very little to do with.
In actress Eve Best’s directorial debut, the porter is played by veteran drag artiste Bette Bourne who, I’m afraid, falls in the latter camp and has nothing much to do with the rest of the production. That said, Bourne is the most interesting thing in it, made up like a clown complete with red nose, startled eyebrows, and pancake-white make-up, stumbling around drunk but trying hard to retain his poise.
Otherwise, this Jacobean-costumed Macbeth is rather a middling affair, neither great nor gawd blimey bad, which means a pleasant time is to be had at the Globe rather than a startlingly interesting one.
I went to a matinee performance on a sweltering day when half of the groundlings were school kids out on their end of year jolly (or their teacher’s idea of a jolly) so what with their constant cracking of water bottles, the helicopters overhead, and the odd suicidal pigeon, it made for a lively atmosphere.
Joseph Millson makes a beefcake Macbeth, all trimmed black beard and shiny white teeth, but although his delivery’s perfect, he lacks passion until the “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech when suddenly depth appears only to be quickly swallowed up again by frantic action.
Best directs the Scottish play ably and straightforwardly with the only surprise being the humour she brings out in the piece. When Banquo’s ghost (Billy Boyd) marches towards Macbeth along a trestle table, you expect him to put his arms out in front of him and to start doing zombie moans whilst Scooby Doo pops his head up from under the table. The school kids in the audience certainly loved that bit, and every other tension-breaking moment, but after a while the humour was a bit much to take in such a dark play.
Samantha Spiro is a diminutive ball of fury as Lady Macbeth, an out of character part for this actor who’s most usually seen in lighter roles. Her ‘out damned spot’ sleepwalking moment is quietly unnerving. A rasping gasp at every intake of Spiro’s breath is quite disconcerting and I sat there wondering if she smoked heavily or had a wasting lung disease. Spiro and Millson only ever seem to quite gel as a couple when he has his hands round her throat (never a good sign in a marriage).
The set is sparse – the ramparts of a castle in brown and off-white – and the costumes all dun-coloured which adds to the sense of ordinariness that pervades this production, although Olly Fox’s music is rather lively. Pepping things up no end with a rousing pipe and drum accompaniment to the cast’s opening jig (don’t worry: the traditional closing one is there too), the authentic sounding music drives the action forward.
In the end though, I just didn’t believe in Macbeth’s inner life enough and if that fails to grasp the entrails, then the production is really just going through the (albeit very interesting) motions. It is, in a way, the perfect ‘in’ to Shakespeare for kids as there’s an admirably clear line through the play, the dialogue is spoken clearly, the actions match the words, and the humour will keep their interest. Mine just waned.
WHAT: Macbeth
WHERE: The Globe, Bankside, London
WHEN: Various times until October 13
TICKETS: £5 – £39
FOR MORE INFO: CLICK HERE:
RUNNING TIME: two and a half hours
WOULD I SEE IT AGAIN: Yes, but only because it’s the Globe
You must be logged in to post a comment.