MACBETH - CLASS ACT
Sun, 29 June 2003, 02:46 amDmac9 posts in thread
MACBETH - CLASS ACT
Sun, 29 June 2003, 02:46 amWhen: Preview 27 June 2003.
Where: Rechabites Hall.
I have been reluctant to post reviews, as I usually know one or two of the cast members in any production I see, (donÂ’t see many due imperatives of earning a living, children etc.) but plead exception in this case, and your indulgence, as I will not comment directly on the performances of those cast members I know well.
Of the ten or so productions of Shakespeare I have seen in my life most have been taxing on the intellect, and the bladder, including BellÂ’s productions. This is the most rewarding I have ever seen.
Mike McCallÂ’s MacBeth was powerful, and vulnerable, all menÂ’s ambitions and fears exorcised, and the chemistry with Angelique MalcolmÂ’s Lady MacBeth almost tactile (I was in the front row). There was not one weak link in the most seamless play I have ever seen in Perth.
I must give special mention to Steve Turner’s Malcolm. Learning of his father’s murder, his line “O, by whom?” punched me in the chest with the tragedy, pathos. I felt the guilt, as if I were bearing the news of the death of a loved one.
I had some small quibbles with the lighting and, as usual, male voices must work twice as hard as female voices in the Rechabites space to be heard, but I left as a very satisfied punter.
See it.
If you do and disagree, or think my review impartial, listen carefully; I do not care.
Dean McAskil
Thou mangled clay-brained haggard!
Where: Rechabites Hall.
I have been reluctant to post reviews, as I usually know one or two of the cast members in any production I see, (donÂ’t see many due imperatives of earning a living, children etc.) but plead exception in this case, and your indulgence, as I will not comment directly on the performances of those cast members I know well.
Of the ten or so productions of Shakespeare I have seen in my life most have been taxing on the intellect, and the bladder, including BellÂ’s productions. This is the most rewarding I have ever seen.
Mike McCallÂ’s MacBeth was powerful, and vulnerable, all menÂ’s ambitions and fears exorcised, and the chemistry with Angelique MalcolmÂ’s Lady MacBeth almost tactile (I was in the front row). There was not one weak link in the most seamless play I have ever seen in Perth.
I must give special mention to Steve Turner’s Malcolm. Learning of his father’s murder, his line “O, by whom?” punched me in the chest with the tragedy, pathos. I felt the guilt, as if I were bearing the news of the death of a loved one.
I had some small quibbles with the lighting and, as usual, male voices must work twice as hard as female voices in the Rechabites space to be heard, but I left as a very satisfied punter.
See it.
If you do and disagree, or think my review impartial, listen carefully; I do not care.
Dean McAskil
Thou mangled clay-brained haggard!
Re: MACBETH - CLASS ACT
Sat, 12 July 2003, 02:23 pmI went to MacBeth on Thursday night and was informed that it was the smallest audience which the cast had received, only half full. Yet after reading the scathing reviews of the show, I found it interesting that they had still been receiving full houses every night.
MacBeth has never been one of my favourite Shakespeare pieces and so I was reluctant to attend, yet somewhat excited in case this particular representation was to change my opinion of the play.
Unfortunately that was not to be the case. I found the performance to be long and tedious, failing to reach its potential. This may be due to my actual dislike of the play but i feel that the acting and the direction was also lacking. Despite the somewhat blunt yet fair reviews, i felt that Mike (McCall) successfully grasped the traditional character and representation of MacBeth, as a relentless and ambition driven man. But unfortunately nothing else was added to give his character depth. I, like Alison, wanted to see the insanity, the slow deterioration of his mentality, the mental anguish whilst struggling with his conscience and the relentless power struggle with Lady Macbeth. All of this was apparently ignored or took a large backseat in the final construction of character. His character did develop however through his relationship with Banquo (sp?), whom i thought was fantastic, KudosÂ’ to him! MacBeth and Banquo worked fluently and comfortably together on stage and successfully gave Macbeth some humanity and warmth. The relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth on the other hand was very much lacking and i agree with the reviewers on the 'groping' and pawing issue .The affectionate physicality coming naturally from mike seemed almost completely rejected by LadyMacbeth, which i felt actually missed the point of their relationship, as LadyMacbeth is meant to hold some type of sensual and controlling power over Macbeth encouraging the fatal actions . I felt no sensuality or bonding between the couple, and the attempts at showing it failed into an uncomfortable pawing. Angelique Malcom, lacked convcincing physicality as a sensual and controlling character, but this may be due to the fact that they costumed her in a nightgown resembling a Hessian sack, which would make anyone feel as sensual as a potato. Similar to Mike, Angelique, was fine, but nothing amazingly fantastic.
Kudoes to the Porter! The comic relief was much needed and appreciated by all, but similar to all the other actors, the physicality was obvious eg. sex was communicated through pelvic thrusts, mateship through heavy and frequent smacking and patting on the back and bum, and insanity through the year 3 twirling of fingers at the temple. These levels of performance are fantastic for communicating the story to those who do not understand Shakespeare, do not know the story or for highschool audiences as it clearly demonstrates what the actor is trying to communicate. Yet i feel that subtle gesture would have worked just as well and made the characters seem much more believable.
The scaffolding was fantastic and added wonderful and necessary levels to the set. Hessian is not my favourite choice for set covering and seems to be very difficult to pull off unless you are set in a forest or perhaps a hessian factory...but it was fine. Worked somewhat. Only qualm about the top level was that the actors were damn close to the light rigging, which seemed a little uncomfortable for them.
The fight scenes which i figure were choreographed by Andy were gold, as was the witches cauldron spewing out smoke and bubbles, the backing music (some cool stuff there) and ladymacbeths hand wringing/washing, Banquo, MacDuff's Wife(sorry no program) and the Thai fisherman pants on various characters.
On the whole the play had some great scenes and some lacking scenes. It was fine and received as such by the audience. Well done the cast and chookers for the last few shows!
MacBeth has never been one of my favourite Shakespeare pieces and so I was reluctant to attend, yet somewhat excited in case this particular representation was to change my opinion of the play.
Unfortunately that was not to be the case. I found the performance to be long and tedious, failing to reach its potential. This may be due to my actual dislike of the play but i feel that the acting and the direction was also lacking. Despite the somewhat blunt yet fair reviews, i felt that Mike (McCall) successfully grasped the traditional character and representation of MacBeth, as a relentless and ambition driven man. But unfortunately nothing else was added to give his character depth. I, like Alison, wanted to see the insanity, the slow deterioration of his mentality, the mental anguish whilst struggling with his conscience and the relentless power struggle with Lady Macbeth. All of this was apparently ignored or took a large backseat in the final construction of character. His character did develop however through his relationship with Banquo (sp?), whom i thought was fantastic, KudosÂ’ to him! MacBeth and Banquo worked fluently and comfortably together on stage and successfully gave Macbeth some humanity and warmth. The relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth on the other hand was very much lacking and i agree with the reviewers on the 'groping' and pawing issue .The affectionate physicality coming naturally from mike seemed almost completely rejected by LadyMacbeth, which i felt actually missed the point of their relationship, as LadyMacbeth is meant to hold some type of sensual and controlling power over Macbeth encouraging the fatal actions . I felt no sensuality or bonding between the couple, and the attempts at showing it failed into an uncomfortable pawing. Angelique Malcom, lacked convcincing physicality as a sensual and controlling character, but this may be due to the fact that they costumed her in a nightgown resembling a Hessian sack, which would make anyone feel as sensual as a potato. Similar to Mike, Angelique, was fine, but nothing amazingly fantastic.
Kudoes to the Porter! The comic relief was much needed and appreciated by all, but similar to all the other actors, the physicality was obvious eg. sex was communicated through pelvic thrusts, mateship through heavy and frequent smacking and patting on the back and bum, and insanity through the year 3 twirling of fingers at the temple. These levels of performance are fantastic for communicating the story to those who do not understand Shakespeare, do not know the story or for highschool audiences as it clearly demonstrates what the actor is trying to communicate. Yet i feel that subtle gesture would have worked just as well and made the characters seem much more believable.
The scaffolding was fantastic and added wonderful and necessary levels to the set. Hessian is not my favourite choice for set covering and seems to be very difficult to pull off unless you are set in a forest or perhaps a hessian factory...but it was fine. Worked somewhat. Only qualm about the top level was that the actors were damn close to the light rigging, which seemed a little uncomfortable for them.
The fight scenes which i figure were choreographed by Andy were gold, as was the witches cauldron spewing out smoke and bubbles, the backing music (some cool stuff there) and ladymacbeths hand wringing/washing, Banquo, MacDuff's Wife(sorry no program) and the Thai fisherman pants on various characters.
On the whole the play had some great scenes and some lacking scenes. It was fine and received as such by the audience. Well done the cast and chookers for the last few shows!