It’s an unremarkable but decent account of the Scottish Play with its famous witchery, regicide, paranoia, somnambulism and, ultimate good-guy coup. And because it’s part of the long standing Playing Shakespeare With Deutsche Bank project which provides free tickets for state school groups from London and Birmingham it is neatly pared down to 90 minutes to accommodate the constraints of the school day and, perhaps, the concentration spans of young audience members.

Music, directed by Louise Anna Duggan (co-composed by her and Zands Duggan) and played four musicians in the gallery, adds a lot of traditional atmosphere to this Macbeth. It uses muscular percussion, brass and, evocatively, sheets of metal which are menacingly shaken or struck to produce some pretty sinister sounds. Music links scenes and provides effects such as underscoring tension or fear and providing required sounds such as bells. I often find the music gratuitous in  productions at Shakespeare’s. Here it is totally integrated and appropriate.

Sarah Frankcom’s direction ensures that the story telling is clear and the action makes imaginative use of the thrust extension and walkway built across the Globe’s yard (designer Rose Revitt).

The Witches, reminiscent of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, are dressed in brown robes, wear antlered helmets and carry twiggy staffs. Their incantations are gloriously catchily rhythmic.

The cast of nine use a range of accents including  very broad West Midlands for Duncan (Chris Nayak). In many cases I suspect actors have simply been directed to use their own native accents in the interests of inclusivity and conveying the message that Shakespeare’s words can be spoken by anyone from anywhere. It’s a worthy aim but it sometimes leads to lack of verbal clarity. Unfamiliar accents tend to be pitched so that some syllables are lost to some unattuned ears. It’s likely to be an unpopular thought but nothing is clearer nor more universally understood than RP.

Fiston Barek has a certain charisma as Macbeth. I had to wipe my eyes when he got to “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”. I was also impressed with how, with intelligent timing,  he dealt with the unaccountable laugh the preceding line “ The Queen, my lord is dead” triggered from the young audience. Hannah Azuonye is an elegant Lady Macbeth although she failed to make me believe in her scheming passion. There’s some strong work from Beth Hinton-Lever as a witch doubling as Porter, Seyton and various takes on “Sirrah”. She scampers round the stage with urgent energy but at other times conveys real stillness.

First published by Sardines: https://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/review/macbeth-20/