KING MACBETH may be a chance to “set the record straight” on the life of the 11th century Scottish king Macbeth, but this new account is no less dramatic than Shakespeare’s ever popular version.
More than 400 years after The Scottish Play was written by the Bard – and according to some critics defamed the real-life monarch – Deborah McAndrew’s version of Macbeth’s life was presented in the intimate setting of Staffordshire University’s Studio One performance space.
King Macbeth provides historical substance - and some would say justification - to Macbeth’s campaign against his cousin Duncan, barely touched upon in Shakespeare’s play where Macbeth seems to appear merely driven by ambition.
This new play explores Macbeth’s life before the death of Duncan (killed on the battlefield, not in bed as the Bard portrayed). It reveals Macbeth as a talented general laid low by the grief of his father’s death at the hands of his own kin, and Macbeth’s betrayal by the man he held most dear.
But amongst the described harshness of life a millennia ago there is surprising tenderness between Gruoch (later Lady Macbeth) and Macbeth as events force them together.
The stage floor, with its forbidding stone circle, sets the scene for the bleak, uncompromising confrontations between the three-strong cast. Battle is suggested by the military-style attire of the actors – Angus King as Macbeth, Dominic Meir as Duncan and Emma Laidlaw as Lady Gruoch.
Musical elements of the era, plainsong and folk songs, combine with a glacial, metallic sound effect – used rather frequently to allude to foreboding and sounding like a sword drawn from its sheath.
But the minimal setting aids the tension. The rhythm and imagery of the script is convincingly Shakespearean – albeit in a contemporary context.
