Chris Beckey as Macbeth and Elle Mickel as Lady Macbeth. Photo: Morgan Roberts.
A company known for taking risks and pushing boundaries, The Danger Ensemble have gone all in and concocted a veritable witches’ brew with this telling of Macbeth. And while there is a lot to like about this gothic reimagining of William Shakespeare’s tragedy; not all the ideas meld well enough together. In the end it seems like too many of them can indeed diffuse the broth.
On the whole, there was an unevenness to the production that was highlighted in the space between the truly outstanding and the simply average, and it was perhaps a victim of its own ambition. At almost three hours long (including a brief interval) it could have been cut down to be a bit tighter.
As an example, the performances from the main leads were excellent, headlined by the experienced Chris Beckey in the titular role. His fourth outing as the Scottish thane, he brought a gravitas to the role and deep knowledge and understanding of the text which helped power his portrayal.
The gender-blind casting – a bold decision that for the most part paid off and interestingly saw a majority female cast – also allowed for fellow stage veteran Sally McKenzie to impress as key character Macduff. McKenzie – who has performed in productions of Macbeth previously as Lady Macbeth – relished her turn as the vengeful hero.
However, some of the minor roles did suffer as the actors seemed to struggle to bring life to the words they were reciting and were unfortunately quite flat in comparison.
Newcomer Elle Mickel though encountered no such difficulties and impressed as Lady Macbeth, portrayed here as a young and seductive woman who was also working her way through the grief of losing a child.
Visually, the production had numerous high points, including the effective use of lighting, especially with regards to the weird sisters; and taken on their own, the detailing of many of the costumes was impressive. However, as was the case for much this show; when taken into consideration as a whole, the costuming, theming and setting were another area where ideas appeared muddled. Overall, the sense of time and place was difficult to establish.
While the negligee and sparkling dresses of Lady Macbeth did suit her reimagined persona; King Duncan and – in this production, his daughter – Malcolm, wore what you might imagine a jester would like in a king’s court and appeared at first to be comic figures. And if this was intentional – the reasoning was not made clear.
As Macbeth’s inevitable demise looms, he dons an amour of plush toys – an aesthetic decision that does not appear to make any outward sense, except that it looks ‘interesting’. As music was a key ingredient in the telling of this story, perhaps it was a homage to the stuffed animal pants worn by Flea back in the day.
On the other hand, the use of white paint to signify blood did make sense to the story as the slaughtered characters returned to haunt Macbeth.
With regards to the music, this was another aspect where the direction was unclear. Although there were some great set pieces featuring interesting music choices (John Farnham being sung at the banquet before the murder of Duncan, the haunting version of ‘Nature Boy’ when the deed was done), overall they pulled you out of the scene, instead of setting it.
This is not to say Macbeth is not worth watching; in fact the opposite is true for those who have an interest in theatre. Despite not being able to pull off all their concepts and ideas this time, The Danger Ensemble and director and designer Steven Mitchell Wright should be encouraged for taking new risks by presenting this version of The Scottish Play. With further refinement, it could be truly excellent.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5
Macbeth
Cast: Chris Beckey, Joshua Brandon, Nicole Harvey, Thomas Hutchins, Jack Hutchison, Jo Loth, Sally McKenzie, Cienda McNamara, Elle Mickel, Shynae Ryder, Peta Ward and Bridget Webb.
Director / Designer – Steven Mitchell Wright
Lighting Designer – Ben Hughes
Composer and Sound Designer – Dane Alexander
Designer – Arnavaz Lindsay
Executive Producer – Eloise Grace
Associate Producer – Bri Zammit
Stage Manager – Jeremy Gordon
Assistant Director – Damian Tatum
February 9-25 2017
Queensland Academy: Creative Industries Theatre
