★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Natasha

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

This production. contains stylised violence and depictions of murder. Please note, Macbeth contains brief periods of loud live drumming.

Well, this production is certainly loud, vivid and visceral! Presenting a unique interpretation of Macbeth (arguably Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy), Flabbergast Theatre commits its all to an onstage extravaganza of melodrama and mayhem. Imbued with an extreme physicality, wonderfully lit and with restrained and extremely effective stage and costume design, the show is visually stunning. Dance, movement and shaping are brilliantly thought out and performed. Skirts (worn by both male and female actors) swirl out beautifully like upturned tulips; chalk and clay clings to bodies, and conveys death more effectively than blood.

The Flabbergast Company, having previously produced immersive original works, bravely present a fresh and interesting take on a theatrical classic. Beginning pre-show with the actors performing onstage, the actors (led by lead actor/director and founder Henry Maynard) explore boundaries between reality/play-acting, sanity/madness, and convention/disruption. It is cleverly suggested, for example, that Macbeth may experience the famous Witches as a form of hallucination and/or fit, and Lady Macbeth’s incipient madness is visible way before any evildoing takes place. This premise is fascinating: but the way it is presented is highly (and deliberately) disorienting. Hysteria, both bodily and vocal; a percussive cacophony of gongs and drums and loudly banged wooden staffs; and much-unexpected shrieking and demented laughter, possess the ability to both engross and/or destabilise the audience. (For this reviewer, the persistent noise and volume were more bearable from the back of the auditorium during the second half.)

As well as this brutal abrasion of the senses, I also felt that Flabbergast’s conceptualisation failed, for me, to present the Shakespearean text convincingly. Wonderful unison performances, vocal inflection, intriguing musical compositions and great use of unexpected sound can enhance a performance, but if this is at the expense of the dialogue, something crucial is lost. At times I not only struggled to hear certain words, but indeed any words whatsoever, due to the creative ‘background’ noise of stamping, slapping and ululating. Although these techniques were used to great effect, less thought appears to have been given to delivering and pacing the poetry. Apart from a couple of soliloquies, the breakneck speed of delivery coupled with accompanying sounds made me struggle to comprehend what was being said, and, more importantly, its meaning. If I were not so familiar with the play, I may have struggled not only to have identified characters, but also to have missed a great deal of plot due to struggling to register the dialogue, let alone ‘translate’ from the Shakespearean to a contemporary understanding of the words.

Briony O’Callaghan’s impressive performance as Lady Macbeth, for example, was most effective for me in its silent, gazing moments, rather than the galloping, crazed, monologues, and not merely because of contrasting effect. Yes, Flabbergast’s stylistic interpretation is certainly remarkable, and I am all for embracing the exaggerated, the shouty and the camp; deconstructing gender roles, audience expectations and traditional performance is welcome. Yet I felt that the speed and discordance of delivery prevented me from fully engaging with both the actors and the play itself. Inviting a sensory rather than conventional interpretation of the play, makes it hard work for the audience.

In conclusion, though, the piece is definitely worth a look as an example of bringing varied performative techniques to Shakespeare. Flabbergast Theatre Company are a fantastic troupe, a tight-knit ensemble whose skills in clowning, puppetry and creating immersive, intensive sensory experiences have led them to devise and perform this bold new version of Macbeth. They also clearly enjoy what they do, revelling in the physicality of the piece, using their entire bodies in attempting to convey the mania and murder of the play. And some audiences may be more ready for this then I am. So please slow it down and adjust the volume – but never stop pushing the boundaries of theatre.

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