Reviewed by Malcolm Calder
Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
Auckland Theatre Company
Director Benjamin Kilby Henson
Set Dan Williams
Lighting Rachel Marlow & Bradley Gledhill, Filament 11
Costumes Elizabeth Whiting
Composer and Sound Design Robin Kelly
Engine Room Director Sepelini Mua’au
With Alison Bruce, Keagan Carr Fransch, Travis Graham,
Marianne Infante Khee Choy, Mark Mitchinson, Maaka Pohatu, Robert Pollock, Jeff Szusteman, Amanda Tito, Lauie Tofa, Sara Wiseman and as Coven Lightning Maxwell Andrew, Lucy Goer and Evelyn Towersey
ASB Waterfront Theatre
Ends 22 August
Reviewer Malcolm Calder
Good to see ATC mounting a solid Shakespeare. Albeit one with a modern twist to an age-old tale. And good too, to see Benjamin Kilby Henson starting to hit his straps with the company.
No, the script hasn’t been hijacked and Shakespeare’s themes remain extant. The setting however it something else. More on that later.
The standout is Mark Mitchinson who gives us a supremely impressive Macbeth. Not only one which provides a title for the play, but a carefully crafted character around which everyone and everything revolves. As it should be. His Macbeth is vocally and emotionally powerful, plumbs enormous depths of physical presence, all the while commanding the stage even when he is not on it.
Yes, of course he goes mad and is eventually disposed of in the internecine warrior-world of Shakespeare’s Scotland, but I expect Mitchinson’s Macbeth to remain with me for some time.
Less so his counterpoint – Sara Wiseman – who struggled with the complexity of Lady Macbeth. There were flashes of intensity from her, especially when using her lower register, but inconsistently so. The play just didn’t have a balance for me. And that was a pity because Lady Macbeth is pivotal and strength is an essential. As a result the drama that unfolds and the 4th and 5th Acts sometimes felt like a different play … my sinister political drama had somehow become more of a psycho-drama and I felt a tad let down.
Nonetheless, Mr Kilby Henson used his ensemble well with Jeff Szustemann giving us a very capable Banquo and, despite my initial misgivings, the use of children as the witches worked very well indeed. Perhaps worthy of mention too was the delightful ‘cameo’ from Amanda Tito (Porter), breaking briefly through the fourth wall to reach out into the audience.
Dan Williams’ highly effective post-apocalyptic fantastical engine-room’ and maintained the overall production values and standards now firmly established by ATC. Robyn Kelly’s growly soundscape underpinned all that Shakespeare conjured and Elizabeth Whiting would surely have relished letting her hair down with the costumes.
So, on balance, this as a more than competent production perhaps worthy of some minor re-casting. However the standout for me remains Mark Mitchison’s Macbeth.
New Zealand Arts Review 