Macbeth at the RSC

There was a lot of interesting stuff in this rendition of Macbeth. A lot of high concept stuff, which isn’t usually my favorite, but some of it worked. I loved the non-specific modern design, the intense sound work, the harsh lighting. Especially as it was used to emphasize the fractured nature of reality.

The stage was dominated by a countdown clock that snapped on counting down from two hours at the moment of Duncan’s death. It served as a reminder of the nature of a lot of high-concept ideas about time and death as related in the program, and to a degree it worked to ratchet up the tension (though it was frequently counteracted by slow paced additions to the play). In the end, however, it was more of a distraction than anything. How would they make the play time out perfectly to the countdown? What would happen if intermission ran long? In the end, though, the timing didn’t pan out and they cheated- going into the face off with Macduffe the clock suddenly jumped down five minutes, and then it held at one second for a noticeable amount of time before the death stroke.

And speaking of the death stroke, the final battle was... odd. Macduffe was clearly overmatched, and got his ass kicked. But he didn’t die no matter how many times Macbeth (literally) kicked him. There seemed to be an idea that the prophecy made Macduffe invincible, because Macbeth sort of just eventually gave up and let him cut his throat. It was... weird.

The witches were three little girls in pajamas with stuffed animals. This allowed for some creepy moments that I liked, and it was a cool concept, but it also led them to cut most of their most significant scene, entirely taking out everything in it before Macbeth entered. They worked in the “double double” refrain from time to time (to chilling effect), but not having them interact solely with each other was something I missed.

Another conceptual choice that worked at times and didn’t work at others was the Porter. The Porter was onstage for nearly the entire show. Sometimes he engaged with the action (he became the third murtherer and later Seyton) and sometimes he was just observer, calmly tallying the death toll on the back wall in chalk. Macbeth used the “Satan” pronunciation when calling him by name, which led to wondering if perhaps he was meant to BE Satan, or some other malevolent force. At times he seemed to be working with Macbeth (the Porter scene was styled as though he was intentionally playing for time, delaying Macduffe until Macbeth was ready - an interesting choice since, of course, that’s the character’s entire purpose in the meta-world of the actors making costume changes. Alas, the choice leeched almost all the humor out of the scene.) though at other times he seemed to be beyond Macbeth, controlling the world as though in league with the witches.

Most of the performances were good, some truly superb. Edward Bennett was far and away the best Macduffe I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them. His loss at the death of his family was utterly wrenching. Tim Samuels as Lennox was delightfully creepy, though I did wonder if his resemblance to Doug Stamper on House of Cards was intentional.

Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth was nearly the only adult female presence onstage, witches having been relegated to children. The only gender swaps were the relatively minor characters of Donalbaine and The Doctor, and even with the relative beefing up of Lady Macduffe (an interesting choice and a lovely performance from Miram Haque), he play felt unusually male for a modern production. This is a bit unfortunate because Ms Cusack was the weakest link of the production. Throughout their scenes together Eccleston was working very hard to play the weaker card, verbally and especially physically offering her the higher status over and over and she just refused to take it. He kept responding to attacks on his masculinity that she just never made. Some of this wasn’t her fault- the blocking repeatedly kept them distant from each other in a way that made little sense. (Intimate lines about his mental status clearly not meant for the crowd at the banquet were delivered across the length of the stage.) The two characters just didn’t click together- they didn’t seem to need each other.

And then came the 5.1 “crazy scene.” I often dread this scene because I feel most productions go entirely the wrong way with it, but in this instance... it was as though they had decided to stage the “bad” version of Ophelia’s mad scene from Slings and Arrows. She was “playing crazy” throughout the scene, from the shuffling footsteps, to waving at the air, to the utterly unjustified shifts in tone and pace. There wasn’t a thing in it that felt real or connected or honest. (And if sometime can explain to me how the freaking RSC can misunderstand the Elizabethan meaning of the phrase “stand close” I’d love to hear it.)

The end of the play saw a strong implication that the witches had set their sights on Fleance next- a choice I’ve seen before and one I feel isn’t justified in the text, but which has a strong impact onstage. It worked to give a chilling ending. An even better choice earlier in the play was having Lady Macbeth jokingly put the crown on Fleance (added into the coronation scene) the way you do with kids, and when Macbeth went to get it back, Fleance didn’t want to give it up. It was a great moment of creepy foreshadowing and gave Eccleston a wonderful moment it reaction.

And Eccleston himself. The man who erased all mention of his time on Doctor Who from his bio while listing everything else he’s ever done. He was good. He wasn’t a powerhouse, but a powerhouse Macbeth isn’t an honest Macbeth. Eccleston has several truly excellent moments, and his direct audience address was deeply real. He blew a few lines (it WAS a preview) but it never derailed him. He played strength well and made an admirable attempt at weakness that failed through no fault of his own. Where he really shone, though, was the descent. He nailed the madness, the exhausted meltdown of a giant. I wish the play had allowed for him to play off Bennett in more than just an oddly stylized combat scene because I feel that could have been shit-hot.

All in all I feel Director Polly Findlay has created a truly beautiful and visceral Macbeth that has deeply bold ideas, some of which work and some of which don’t. As this was a preview it’s certainly possible that some of those that don’t work will pull together or be cut before tonight (seriously just cut the clock!) The show will probably sell out due to star power anyway, but I’d recommend it if you can get a ticket.