Two Years On And Still Brilliant - Macbeth

It was almost two years to the day since I first saw Amy Leach’s premier production of Macbeth at Leeds Playhouse and, without doubt, her work remains as brilliant now as I first remembered it in March 2022: powerful, mesmerising and most definitely a play for today.

The cast may have changed slightly but, if there ever was a piece of theatre so complete this iss it and, somehow, the staging made the understanding and flow of Shakespeare’s English sound as though it were straight out of the back streets of Hunslet!

Gone was Tachia Newall in the main role and in was Ash Hunter as Macbeth, like his predecessor, imposing, convincing and beautifully nuanced, as he moved from victorious soldier to scheming murderer egged on by his wife, the equally brilliant Jessica Baglow, reprising the role with another memorable performance.

This is a tragedy crammed to groaning with themes: greed, the lust for power, revenge, regret.

It is bold, brash and, despite there being only a handful of people on stage, brilliant use of lighting (Chris Davey), an equally creative set (Hayley Grindle) and the inspired sounds of French artist Woodkid, leave you feeling as though you are witnessing an invading army.

The overarching use of a drawbridge as a central anchor to the stage, was magnificent in its visual splendour and flexibility: down and in front of you was a fortified castle but, raised slightly and you were in the dining hall within witnessing conversations and private moments of madness and intrigue.

Again, in this play, we see mirror images unfolding around us in Ukraine and now the West Bank, where two men remain responsible for death and destruction all in the name of power, ego and need for personal victory, each with a different justification. A play for today? Absolutely!

It is one of the most famous in the Shakespearean canon, this production inspired by the brutal landscapes of the Pennines and Yorkshire Moors where Leach spent her formative years in the shadow of Pendle, home to the 1612 Witch Trials.

Baglow as Lady Macbeth was totally convincing in her connivance, encouraging her malleable husband to snuff out his regal rival, Duncan (Aosaf Afzal) so that he could accede to the throne, whilst Hunter stepped into the leading role and Tachia Newall’s shoes without a blink.

Paul Brown as Lennox, Benjamin Cawley back as Ross and Adam Bassett, again, as Macduff were excellent lieutenants in the unfolding plot, with another memorable, and hilarious visual description of a certain part of the male anatomy!

And top marks to Daniel Poyser as Banquo and Adam Bassett as Macduff, not failing to mention Claire Llewellyn's brilliant fight plots.

And beneath it all Benjamin Wilson’s inspired audio description and aural story telling. As if the lines weren’t enough, everyone on stage made this production totally accessible to the hearing impaired: brilliant.

Shakespeare can be challenging, certainly the tragedies, and it takes a brilliant production to keep you locked on like an Exocet missile. Amy Leach gave her audience just that.

Macbeth
Leeds Playhouse
Until March 23rd