Macbeth – Donmar Warehouse, London

Max Webster’s searing, thrilling Macbeth is far more than the novelty of its headphones.

Macbeth Retold

Macbeth is one of those Shakespearean plays performed with such frequency that I look for a special reason to see it again (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet are in the same boat as far as I’m concerned). In this case there were multiple reasons: the casting of David Tennant in the lead role, the scarcity of tickets making me extra-determined to get my hands on one, and the buzz around the production’s use of binaural sound. So after several days assiduously checking for returned tickets, I managed to snap one up and off I went.

It’s firstly important to note that binaural sound is not unique to this production. In fact, the first thing I managed to see ‘live’ after the first pandemic lockdown was Blindness, arguably a more groundbreaking use of the technology, right here at the Donmar Warehouse.

So what is this production all about? Well, Max Webster has stripped Shakespeare’s Scottish play right back to its essentials. It runs at just under two hours, no interval, any extraneous speeches gone. Rosanna Vize‘s set is similarly spare: a raised white stage, glass booths behind it. The costumes are all shades of grey and black, aside from Lady Macbeth (Cush Jumbo) in white. And that sound, delivered through wired headphones worn throughout the entire performance, is integral to the experience.

Imagine a Macbeth where the witchy sisters do not appear on stage, but sound like they’re right there with you. Where birds fly past, where you walk through a forest with the characters. Gareth Fry’s sound design is so effective that the novelty wears off quickly. In the beginning I couldn’t resist the urge to remove my headphones briefly, to check what the sounds of this ancient Scotland were without it. But I soon adapted and enjoyed the richness of the experience.

Subtlety and Suggestion

Even without the headphones, this would be a very good production of Macbeth. Where the sound design elevates it is in allowing the actors their full range, from anguished screams to mere whispers. The actors are uniformly excellent, but Tennant and Jumbo in particular are able to infuse their characters with something new in this way. Tennant’s Macbeth is cold and ruthless, yet ultimately moving as his plans unravel. Lady Macbeth is not so much an instigator as an accomplice, fracturing into madness under the weight of her conscience. The asides and the muttered musings are much more convincing and effective when not projected across the theatre.

All the stripping away perhaps allows the power of Shakespeare to shine through in its truest form. The understanding of human nature. The mastery of language. And let’s not forget knowing just when to alleviate the tension with a minor character in a comedic role: in this case Jatinder Singh Randhawa as the Porter, who breaks the fourth wall and pokes contemporary fun at the production and its audience. When we are plunged back into the action after this moment of levity, the shock feels all the sharper.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful production. Simple, yet stylish. Haunting both for its psychological depth and the strains of its Celtic melodies, played live by Annie Grace, Brian James O’Sullivan, Kathleen MacInnes and Alasdair Macrae. Macbeth is a play which attracts star turns (I can think of another on in London very soon) but this is something truly exceptional. If you can get your hands on a ticket then don’t miss it!

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 5/5

Macbeth on until 10 February 2024