Source: International
Herald Tribune
26 November 2002
Sheridan Morley
Edward Hall's "Macbeth" at the
Albery is a bitter, black and bloody triumph. It takes its mood
from that of its star, Sean Bean, a brooding, dispossessed figure
wonderfully in touch with his young audience and superbly able
to convert his contemporary screen presence to prehistoric Scotland.
True, the accent is more Sheffield than Scots, but what he and
Hall realize is that of all Shakespeare's plays, "Macbeth"
is best suited to being treated as a modern movie of madness and
mayhem. We also get the current Bond movie Moneypenny herself,
Samantha Bond (as a sexy, sympathetic Lady Macbeth), and Julian
Glover bringing some classic Royal Shakespeare Company dignity
to the role of the doomed King, and then astonishingly, within
seconds, doubling up as the old vaudeville Porter.
Anyone who remembers Hall's sequence of the Shakespeare history
plays, "Rose Rage," will know what to expect here. As
a director he moves swiftly and surely, editing the text where
necessary and bringing the drama in well under the usual time,
so it now lasts about as long as a two-hour video of blood and
thunder.
The reasons that Hall (his father is Peter Hall, founding director
of both the RSC and the National in its permanent home) is far
and away the best classical director of his thirtysome-thing generation
are all on show here. He has a superb sense of the sweep of Shakespearean
drama, is able to bring it to a modern audience of limited attention
span without condescending, patronizing or betraying the text.
Above all, he draws out of a young and often inexperienced company
performances of real vim and vigor.
Three gorgeous young women replace the usual old-crone witches,
the cast dresses as for World War I and this is a fiery, frantic
and flamboyant account of the most timeless of all thrillers.
In a bad month for the British monarchy, we are here reminded
that kingship has always been a dodgy business.