Unifaun’s contemporary production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in collaboration with the Manoel Theatre, had British director Clive Judd bathe it in the discourse of contemporary critical theory. Judd’s fresh take on Macbeth sees it as a vehicle by which a host of characters with current sensibilities can fall into the plot narrative created by Shakespeare because it best suits their proclivities, demons and tensions.
The mood of the piece is set very firmly by Romualdo Moretti’s bleak, utilitarian, smoky set, with much of the atmosphere created by Chris Gatt’s striking lighting and Giles Thomas’ ominous sound design.
Mikhail Basmadjian’s Macbeth was a tortured soul, torn between his lust for power, his loyalty to his wife and his friendship with those he kills. His was an even performance which had the necessary vigour but somehow needed a touch more passion.
Erica Muscat’s Lady Macbeth gave a different, much less melodramatic interpretation than is usually expected of her, which worked very well as it brought out the subtleties of her character, but while her tone worked well, her articulation was often too rapid, and this led to moments where a lack of clarity marred an otherwise solid speech.
Successful in bringing Macbeth to a contemporary audience by pushing forward current tensions and sensibilities
Another actor who was low on clarity and whose articulation left much to be desired was Aaron Fenech, who played Prince Malcolm, King Duncan’s son. It was unfortunate that Fenech’s speeches sounded muffled and lacked the strength of conviction that they needed, especially when compared with the calm and solid tones of Jes Camilleri’s King Duncan.
Chris Dingli’s Macduff was credible and clear, but his propensity for the comedic made his character appear a tad awkward, as he tried to steer clear of his humorous traits in favour of a more sober set.
Daniela Carabott Pawley, who played Lady Macduff, gave an acceptably dramatic rendering of her short scene, while the weird sisters played by Naomi Knight, Julia Camilleri and Sasha Calleja were given a very different treatment to the usual old crone stereotype.
They were depicted as young women in the thrall of the heightened sensations of narcotic-fuelled hallucinations which exacerbated their supernatural powers. I’m not sure I agree with how airy fairy and youthful they appeared; their demeanour was supposed to change from young girls in the first act to older, more mature young women in the second act, but only Camilleri made the transition convincingly.
The three interpretations that I found to be most fitting were Ross (Antonella Axisa), Lennox (Brendon Thearle) and Banquo (Jonathan Dunn). Axisa made the most of the gender-flip that this character was given and came across as a loyal, hard-as-nails supporter of Duncan’s cause, while maintaining impeccable diplomatic vigour. She made the part her own and it worked very well. Thearle’s advisory capacity as the cautious Lennox was fulfilled equally well, while Dunn’s was ideal in his execution of Banquo as a character so close and so disparate from Macbeth. Dunn and Axisa managed to sustain the production’s tension and helped push the plot development forward.
In terms of its production value, Judd’s vision was successful in bringing Macbeth to a contemporary audience by pushing forward current tensions and sensibilities – easily applicable to the worrying world this young millennium has inherited; where loss of clear vision may still be mitigated by a focus on what truly matters.