Review: MACBETH, Donmar Warehouse

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

"All Hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be King hereafter." Whilst these words may shake Macbeth to the core, the unique concept of this particular rendition, the use of binaural audio soundscapes, propel the audience into 11th century Scotland, and deeper into Macbeth's downfall than ever before. At first glance, it may seem a little off-putting, donning a pair of headphones to watch a live production, at times leaving you feeling like you've sat down for an immersive radio drama. Yet this technological risk pays off in big ways; witches whisper in your ears, ravens swoop from the skies and above all, the characters' innermost thoughts are spoken as if to you.

Where a once haughty Macbeth might strut across the stage and declare, "Is this a Dagger I see before me?", this unique take allows a more nuanced personal experience with the text and show as a whole, and the usual asides are delivered intimately as personal musings. The sparse set, a simple white square with a glass panelled corridor behind, is expertly designed by Rosanna Vize, and with the sharp direction and adaptation by Max Webster, breathes new life into Shakespeare's classic piece. The cast is expectedly stellar, with David Tennant and Cush Jumbo leading as the titular pair, and Jatinder Singh Randhawa delivering an updated bout of crowd work as the Porter, even asking the question "Did you really pay to watch an audio drama?" He's not wrong, and yet it works incredibly well, as Gareth Fry's creative use of soundscapes are skillfully balanced with the actor's own voices, direct into the audience's ears. There are, of course, momentary lapses, the odd tapped mic, a cacophony of voices, but it's a marked success, even with a live group of musicians leading us across the plains, from raucous Ceilidhs to eerie moors.

It's a beautifully personal revisit of Shakespeare's Scottish play. While the Macbeth's may often appear to be cunning villains, Tennant and Jumbo instead lean on and enable each other, even as they stray further from the light, feeling more fully realised than other productions. This sentiment carries through the entirety of the cast, as Cal MacAninch's Banquo shares his doubts, and Noof Ousellam's Macduff wrestles with the loss of those he left behind in Scotland; nuances which wouldn't be apparent without the binaural audio. This level of intimacy allows for moments that are both chilling and artistically stunning, encouraging even the silence to convey more inherent meaning, and the final second on stage echoes in our own heads like witches on the moor.

Macbeth plays at the Donmar Warehouse until 10 February 2024, running at just under two hours, and its inventive use of binaural audio makes it one of the most idiosyncratic and personal takes on the Scottish play to grace the stage. While we doubt the technology will take over the mainstream theatre experience, the experience is wholly unique and not one to miss.

Innovation reinvigorates Shakespeare's classic play, immersing audiences in drama and deceit.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Jack Francis

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