REVIEW: Macbeth (Shakespeare Theatre Company)

It’s here.

The most anticipated event of the DC theatre season has crossed the pond at long last: Shakespeare Theatre Company’s darkly rusted take on the Scottish Play. Artistic Director Simon Godwin teams up with an all-star cast — including frequent collaborator Ralph Fiennes and British stage/screen icon Indira Varma — and brings with him an equally studded creative team, with whom they’ve been traipsing this production around the UK for the better part of the last year. This isn’t just a regular Micky B, either. Instead of taking advantage of their usual spaces, the company has taken over an old BET soundstage in Northeast for a transformative theatre experience from beginning to end. The result? An engrossing sensory adventure seldom seen this far below 42nd Street; one that affirms DC’s status as the foremost theatre destination in this country outside of Manhattan; and one that re-cements Shakespeare Theatre Company’s status as the national theatre powerhouse that they are.

Book

400 years-old and yet, Macbeth is still a Shakespearean tragedy that hits different. Its gritty themes of power, guilt, and retribution have always provided a hearty playground for an actor. In this iteration, Godwin tinkers the pacing to a healthy degree. Particularly in Act I, dialogue is energetic and fluvial: personality radiates from every line and creates nuclei of characterization to latch onto. Therein, an easily trodden slate of wordsmithing becomes ear candy as subtleties, phrases, or cadences bring attention to passages never scrutinized as such. I did find that Act II took their foot off the gas, a little; some longer soliloquys bring the energy to a screeching halt, right before pivotal moments. Yet this is Macbeth as it ever was, exploding with personality, drama, and wit in the explosive manner we hoped for. 9/10

Acting

I’ve got good news and bad news: the bad news is that they will continue to charge substantial amounts of money for this show, assuming you can find a ticket. The good news is that the performances are so worth it. (Bonus good news is that they’re partnering with TodayTix for a $20 lottery for each performance.) Obviously, the main attractions are Fiennes and Varma — who wouldn’t want to see Voldemort and Elliara Sand dominate a stage? Fiennes puts on a gruff, reluctant, and overall magnetic performance; his title character is noble, borderline anxious, and only barely willing to heed the Witches. Yet his interpretation of the text is masterful, and while his soldier antics were reserved, the anxieties of his spiraling madness come to fruition in achingly humanistic manner. Inversely, Varma’s turn as Lady Mabeth is nothing short of sublime: for a character who is only around maybe half the play, her impact is massive. Varma’s take is sharp as a tack and often quite humorous; her mile-a-minute deliveries and impeccable physical acting teem with liveliness, creating one of the best (if not THE best) Lady Macbeth’s I’ve ever seen onstage. “Oh, but what about everyone else?” Guess what! The talent surrounding them is just as capable. From the Witches arriving with playful grime, to Stegffan Rhodri’s hollowly impacting portrayal as the ultimate backstabbing victim, the ensemble is stuffed with equal measures of talent. 10/10

Production

Exceedingly British. This is of course to mean, an approach with modern realism we don’t tend to see in the upper ecehlons of American theatre, especially in Shakespeare. Colors throughout the production are muted or nonexistent, lighting by Jai Morjaria is brash and bright but limited in scope (save for a few instances of drama). Frankie Bradshaw’s costumes are limited in detail but are effective in their storytelling; especially of of the nobility; she also did the brutalist set design which is more versatile than it lets on. And though I love the commitment to the immersion, I found it…unnecessary. Again, it’s extremely cool and makes great use of this unique space, but I failed to see why it needed to be in it. As we’ve seen with last year’s The Jungle, STC is QUITE capable of transforming their own spaces into intimate affairs. 8/10

Viz

This is not your usual DC production. For starters, it’s quite out-of-the-way: getting to a converted soundstage off Rhode Island Ave which requires driving or a provided Metro shuttle is certainly an event in itself. Once you arrive, it feels desolate, abandoned. But you know it’s the right spot with the massive Macbeth family insignia draping over the entrance and further inside. In fact, It is quite reminiscent of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in its worldbuilding efforts, which I applaud. I love commitment to the bit! Entering the cavernous building and walking past the “box office” and arrangements of flushable portapotties gets you into a sultry pre-show area that borderline suffocates you with haze (STC, if you’re reading this, it was a bit much!). There’s a member’s-only lounge for higher-echelon ticker holders, as well as limited merch (think a shirt and fancy program) and themed cocktails. The real immersion (so to speak) is past this as you make your way to your seat via a pathway scene of destruction, including shrapnel, broken power lines, and an exploded car. Something I didn’t even consider going into this was that this soundstage has more going for it than space itself — I mean, think about it, they needed a semi-soundproof building for recording TV shows. Naturally, this gives Christopher Shutt and Sam Clarkson full reign to work their immersive, cinematic aural magic into the space with crisp, destructive soundscapes. The rhotic booms of jet engines soaring above, distant explosions, and light synth evoke IMAX-like spectacle before the show even begins, as a few soldiers patter about on the pre-show stage. Get ready for the ride, indeed. 10/10

Verdict

Macbeth is well worth the hype. Uber-intelligent performances, slick direction, and well-done immersion make this one of the most exhilarating and memorable DC-area productions in years. 37/40