Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review:  Macbeth Re-arisen

Australian playwright David Mence’s rambunctious Shakespearian mash-up continues the story of Macbeth from the point at which Shakespeare finished his play.

Presented by SAYarts
Reviewed 22nd  February 2017

Australian playwright David Mence’s rambunctious Shakespearian mash-up continues the story of Macbeth from the point at which Shakespeare finished his play. We expect to meet some of the characters – Malcolm, Fleance, Siward, Macduff.  Some, however, are a bit of a surprise – a cripple lacking feet, the Roman poet Virgil, Hecate, and a brace of (spoiler alert!) undead, including Macbeth, Lady M, Banquo and Beezlebob.  The Arch Theatre is an ideal venue for this outing, directed by Claire Glenn and performed by fourteen members of SA Youth Arts, an Adelaide organisation that makes theatre by, for, and about young people.

Mence’s writing is largely in iambic pentameter, and seeks to echo the writing style of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, whilst quoting from the whole Shakespearian canon.  Witty asides, clever resonances and groan-worthy jokes pepper the play, and keep the laughs coming. When we could hear the lines. The major problem in this production was the lack of articulatory clarity. Actors spoke too quickly, with insufficient precision, and often in vocal stress.  All of this combined to obscure Mence’s allusive, cheeky text.

There were teething troubles with the sound system at the start of the show; it’s likely that the actors may have been a bit off-balance because of this.   However, text kept getting hurled at us at break-neck speed, frequently without enough consonants to enable understanding. All actors need to differentiate between pace and speed.

Some of the performers showed great aptitude and good performance craft. Jenna Bezuidenhout (Lady Ross/Hecate) was consistent and clear in both her speaking and her acting. Finn Caulfield (Macbeth) was very watchable, and showed much promise. He sagged beneath the weight of his role on occasion, but gave a courageous account of an Undead Caledonian. Ismael Hamilton-El Aquil (Macduff) worked hard at being clearly heard, as did Megan Paterson (Lady Macbeth).

The kilts worried me.  They were mostly worn incorrerctly.  Did it matter in a show which is a cross between a Shakespearean send-up and a B-grade horror flick?  Probably not.  But the astute (and the Scots) amongst us may find it troubling.

The sheer joy of this show is its intellectual irreverence, absurdity, and wit; it needs to be performed by actors who know Shakespeare’s plays thoroughly, and understand all the funnies.  This is big show, demanding considerable reserves of physical, vocal and emotional stamina in its young players. My guess is that it could have done with a couple more weeks of rehearsal.

Reviewed by Pat. H. Wilson

Rating out of 5:  2

Venue:  Holden Street Theatres – The Arch
Season:  22nd – 25th February 2017
Duration:  90 minutes
Tickets:  $13 – $30.00
Bookingshttps://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/macbeth-rearisen

https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au

http://sayarts.com.au/

 

 

More News

To Top