MACBETH. To 22 August.

Edinburgh International Festival

MACBETH
by William Shakespeare

Ro Theatre, Rotterdam at Royal Lyceum Theatre 20-22 August 2002
Tue-Thur 7.30pm
Runs 2hr 10min No interval
Review Timothy Ramsden 21 August

Firm-set directorial boots trample over Shakespeare's play.This is not stripping a play to its core, despite the bare wooden staging, with just a few chairs and very unroyal table for feastings. It is rarely a development through theatricality of the play's heart or soul though the use of something like engine oil for blood picks up the black imagery throughout.

This viscous substance ends up smeared not just up the Macbeths' arms but over Macbeth's face. It may be a symbol of what's happened to his character but it makes him look unfortunately like the victim of trick soap.

The images are an overlay, not a revelation, trying to tell us messages rather than show experiences through action. It's a series of images commenting on the play: less a production than a Macbeth installation; but without the gallery-goers' freedom to move on. It sledgehammers at us with dreadful snailpace, offering no chance to respond to the characters on a human level.

We're not watching a story, we're viewing a concept. A muddled one. Why is Lady Macbeth dressed like the Witches? Are they that closely linked? The Weird Sisters implant themselves in Macbeth's mind (given the chance to act Steven Van Watermeulen shows how gripped Macbeth is with the equivocating prophecies). His wife's independent and hardly pure evil. Why does the lead Witch become Lady Macduff?

At the start a boy in mock-crown makes some play with a wooden sword. When Macbeth enters he repeats this action. Fighting is childish, yes? Or, maybe, as the female girl-Witches seem autistic going on catatonic, the point is boys are active, girls hang around doing nothing. Such misconceptions arise when the active life's drained from a play.

The production recalls those severe adults who draw themselves up with furrowed brows to impress on children how serious the situation is. Just because everything's slow and formalised we're supposed to be awed.. At its best, there was a time such a production style was impressive, and it's entered the vocabulary of theatrical expression. But times, unlike this production, have moved on. Shakespeare here is stamped on by directorial boots which, stylistically, are at least 20 years out of date.

Macbeth: Steven Van Watermeulen
Banquo: Herman Gilis
King Duncan: Joop Keesmaat
Malcolm/Ross: Marc De Corte
Macduff/Lennox: Paul R. Kooij
Lady Macbeth: Jacqueline Blom
Seyton: Guus Dam
Witch/Lady Macduff: Esther Scheldwacht
Witches: Betul Ugurlu, Laila Holierhoek
Fleance/Macduff's Son: Skip Seesing

Director: Alize Zandwijk
Designer: Thomas Rupert
Lighting: Casper Leemhuis
Costume: Valentine Kempynck, Roelie Westendorp
Music: Wim Selles
Dramaturg: Erwin Jans

2002-08-25 11:47:15