Something wicked this way came
Posted on 18th March 2022
It’s been over twenty years since Roughcast’s first production, and also the last time they staged Macbeth. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the audience second guessing who was making a return visit to one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, or what part they played last time. It certainly wasn’t Robin de Berniere-Smart, Sofia Shorhaindo or Blaise Alcorn, all of who brought a welcome injection of youth into a cast that nonetheless featured many familiar faces.
The parts of Mr and Mrs Macbeth were particularly well served on this occasion, with Joe and Cathy Edwards-Gill delivering excellent performances as the over-reaching couple. It was no great surprise to see Lady Macbeth in her capable hands – I can think of no one better to portray the shifting persona of a woman driven by ambition, and then driven mad by it. Joe was more of a surprise, but only because the last time I saw him perform Shakespeare it was as Bottom, a comedic role that suited him perfectly. It says much for his range that he portrayed Scotland’s hubristic tragic hero with such power and authority.
There was fine support from Paul Baker, both as stately Duncan and the shady murderer, while Peter Long was as reliable as ever as Banquo. As so often happens in Roughcast productions, however, Simon Evans nipped in and stole the scene, if not the show, with his ribald Porter. Plaudits too, for some superbly atmospheric sound, buttressing the pace and imaginative staging that the directors, Sarah Gray and Mark Burridge, brought to proceedings. Macbeth is such a popular play (there were very few empty seats in the audience) that it can be hard to bring something new to it, but this was nonetheless a solid and worthwhile stab at the Scottish play, with lashing of blood and guts to move things along.