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It’s always a great year for me when it’s announced that David Tennant is returning to the theatre and especially to Shakespeare and last night I was lucky enough to have a front row seat to the final preview of the new Donmar production of Macbeth.
In recent years, there’s been more of a tendency to find a new way to tell some of these age-old stories and Max Webster’s latest production of the Scottish play has chosen to incorporate a binaural stereo experience for its audience, through the use of headphones, to create a “3D soundscape”.
I admit, I was sceptical about this and not quite sure whether it would work. I’ve experienced this type of show before, with Complicite’s The Encounter and enjoyed it, but as that was a one-man show, it added to the atmosphere and I was unsure whether it was something that would benefit a full company of actors in such a small space as the 250 seat Donmar. Yet, overall, I enjoyed the experience last night and the positives of the headphones do outweigh the negatives for me (which I’ll touch on later).
The mood of a production of Macbeth is key for me and I’ve had mixed experiences of it over the years, but what I loved about this one was the eeriness that is able to be created in that small theatre space and that is certainly aided by the headphones allowing the actors to truly whisper to one another. There were moments of two actors huddled together, sometimes on the other side of the stage from me, turned the other way and yet thanks to the headphones, it was like they were whispering in my ear, enhancing the conspiratorial mood of the play. It makes you feel complicit at times. And the ability to whisper really added to the impact of a number of lines, such as “O, full of scorpions is my mind” whispered by Macbeth while his head is buried in Lady Macbeth’s neck and many of her urgings to him to forge on with their plan are also delivered in urgent whispers.
The headphones also allow the production to add sound and music in ways that feel filmic. There’s an underlying score that continues to keep the mood and level of tension throughout, alongside sounds such as ravens screeching and more chillingly, the screams of the dying, which echo in your ears, even if you can’t see what’s happening. It utilises the less is more tactic of storytelling, that often what we imagine is more frightening that what we can see and the use of the headphones allowing off stage / unseen sound to be very present for the audience, means that certain scenes that you’d normally expect to see aren’t included in the traditional way. This did surprise me, but it really worked and it also meant that the violent acts we do see in front of us when they come, feel more impactful, especially as the play reaches its final battle.
I also appreciated the way the more fantastical elements of Macbeth are staged in this production, which again is something that really works with the headphones. The witches and prophecies is an element of the play that I’ve seen done really well and less convincingly and here the choice in some scenes for the characters to see things that we can only hear, really worked for me. It also adds to moments where Macbeth is beginning to unravel and we, like those witnessing those moments, look on.
Other eerie encounters are staged, less as three ghosts, but more as spirits changing form, swirling around Macbeth, taking on the faces of those he has betrayed and I found that to be another effective choice, especially combined with the use of changing coloured light and music in such moments.
In terms of staging, I really appreciated Rosanna Vize’s simple set. There’s just a central raised square that acts as both a raised stage and also a table for feasts and plotting in distant corners, together with the back wall of the Donmar stage being utilised as a secondary story space, allowing people on the central stage to look up at times at what’s happening elsewhere. It’s also used as a form of eerie viewing gallery, as other characters, all in black, watch on, sometimes banging on the glass partition, enhancing the sense of feeling guilty and fear of the risk of detection characters feel at certain moments.
As it’s a glass/perspex partition, it also meant that even when characters had their backs to me, I was able to use the reflections to still see them, which I thought was a smart staging choice. The added use of smoke, spilling out from under the stage and bright filament lights (I think, or something akin to that), placed around the auditorium at circle level, really do create a distinct eerie mood and those lights when used for brief moments every so often really made it feel like there was a fire and heat of battle close-by! Also, from my front row seat, the raised platform on the central stage meant you were looking up (although not uncomfortably so), which at times had me feeling like I was eavesdropping/lurking; present at moments I shouldn’t be.
Macbeth is a fairly short play and so I liked the choice not to have an interval and instead keep the pace moving. It heightened the tension and stakes for me. That being said, there is a form of interlude of sorts via the porter, which does bring some laughs to an otherwise dark show, but I’m still not sure if it worked for me. It did take me out of the story and back in to our reality (especially via one brilliant joke), when I think I’d rather have preferred to remain immersed in the eerie mood. Yet, this section is wonderfully performed by Jatinder Singh Randhawa and perhaps many will appreciate the breather it provides. It does also feel like something that may have taken place in the Globe all those centuries ago to entertain the audience watching the Players!
The company of actors here is very good indeed. There’s a lovely relationship between Cal Macaninch’s Banquo and his son, Rona Morison’s Lady Macduff is compelling in her pivotal moments, Noof Ousellam’s Macduff comes in to his own as we reach the play’s conclusion and I really loved Ros Watt as Malcolm, bringing an empathy in scenes with characters in need of that, but also still projecting a strong leader, ready to take on Macbeth for the Scottish throne. I’d need to check whether everyone in the cast is in fact Scottish, but I liked the choice for everyone to be so, other than Lady Macbeth, who already stands apart from the rest of the characters by wearing white, as the only one not in black.
Speaking of one of Shakespeare’s most infamous women, Cush Jumbo is fantastic in this role. She gets the balance right between scheming power player and a woman also struggling with her own ghosts and loss and has a convincing connection with Tennant’s Macbeth, no doubt aided by them having worked with each other previously.
Of course, for any Lady Macbeth, there’s one scene the audience is waiting for and I really liked the approach to the “mad” scene in this production. I do still find the set-up of it, within the play itself, frustrating (and the 2021 Almeida production remains the only one that has provided much needed context for why she seems to go from cold and clinical to emotionally fractured so suddenly), but the performance from Cumbo was one of the best I’ve seen. It’s not over the top, there’s no dramatics. It’s a very understated depiction of someone who has become emotionally unmoored and seems lost in their own world of loss and guilt. I found her to be quite haunting.
And then of course, there is David Tennant. This is the 6th Shakespeare play I’ve seen him in and for me, there’s just no other actor like him when it comes to bringing these ancient texts to life for a contemporary audience. The language doesn’t change, but he has a way of embodying these roles and breathing life in to them, that you just get it. Even if you don’t understand every turn of phrase, you understand the person, their motivations and their turmoil. He brings Shakespeare to life in a simply magical way and this production is just another example of that.
Tennant’s Macbeth is so many things in a short space of time. He’s incredibly charismatic, charming, funny, vulnerable, ruthless, sexy (yes, I said it) and animalistic. It’s a real powerhouse of a performance and being so close to him in moments was a real thrill. Before Macbeth is crowned, he lies down, prostrate on the stage, head turned to the side and it meant he was staring straight at me, which was certainly intense! You can feel how at home he is on that stage and he commands every moment, from intense fights, to whispered monologues in moments of vulnerability. It’s thrilling to experience.
I’ve seen some Macbeths where it’s portrayed much more that the driving force behind their fiendish deeds is Lady Macbeth, with her husband almost caught up in it before he realises it, which I never really believe. Yet in Webster’s production, Tennant’s Macbeth is all-in almost immediately. You can see the thought of that level of power thrills him and when he sees Malcolm early on and voices (in whispered voice to us) about the need to step over him, it’s clear what he wants. The backing of his wife merely emboldens him and even when he says they should not proceed, I didn’t really believe he was serious, which isn’t always the case with this play.
As is the case with every Shakespeare play I’ve seen him in thus far, it’s often some of the subtle choices Tennant makes that I love. On the discovery of the slain King, as Jumbo’s Lady Macbeth collapses with emotion, Tennant’s Macbeth gave her such a subtle, but clear signal through the simple tilt of the head and a raised eyebrow, which seemed to say, reign it in a bit. I couldn’t see her face to gauge her response, but it was just one moment I really liked.
There’s also the choice he makes to take of the crown and drop it on the table next to him, before he starts arranging the murders of those he sees as a threat to him. I appreciated the sense that Macbeth was not King in that moment, but the soldier, planning battle tactics instead and perhaps a part of him didn’t want to be doing such things as King too.
Then there were two scenes that really wowed me. Macbeth’s monologue in Act 5 Scene 5 was breath-taking to watch. Alone, on the castle wall, looking out, in reflective mood and with the ability to not worry about needing to project his voice, we really hear Macbeth contemplating life and the emotional depth Tennant brought out of those words, some a mere breath of a whisper, was spellbinding – “Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” Just a magical moment. It might have even brought a tear to my eye.
The other is the culmination of the play, as Macbeth begins his final battle, taking on other soldiers, some played by others in the ensemble, others we have to imagine, before coming face to face with Macduff. This is when Tennant really lets loose. He’s like a man possessed, as we see the violent ferociousness of Macbeth the soldier. The way he moved around the stage with such primal confidence was very exciting to witness, especially in such an intimate setting as the Donmar stage.
I also loved his choices in that final confrontation with Macduff; the way he taunts him, refusing to surrender and goading him and I could see this being a part of the production that might vary night to night, depending on Tennant’s mood, as it felt very instinctive, which again is part of the gift he has a stage actor. I admit, part of me was rooting for Macbeth! That’s a first!
So, overall, I was thoroughly captivated by this production, far more than I’ve experienced at some other stagings over the years. I appreciate the director and creative team wanting to stage something a bit different through the incorporation of the headphones and soundscape and in large part, it really worked for me.
That being said, I did find myself wondering if it’d have been equally engrossing without it and there were moments I really found myself wanting to remove that barrier between myself and the actors. Had I not been on the front row, I might’ve tried that for a few scenes. I won’t be surprised if some don’t like the headphone element and feel that the closeness it brings in the whispered moments doesn’t make up for that complete theatre experience where there isn’t anything keeping the audience at a distance. It’s hard to describe how something brings both intimacy and distance as an audience member in the same show, but I did certainly feel both at different times during the Donmar production. On my next visit, I might take the headphones off every so often to see what it’s like without them.
One thing is certain though, this is another superb theatre outing for David Tennant. Anyone who has seen him on stage knows how special an experience it is and this is no different. He’s truly one of the very best actors and when it comes to Shakespeare, there’s no one who does it better in my opinion. It’s truly where he belongs and I feel privileged every time I have the opportunity to see it.
Macbeth continues at the Donmar Warehouse, London, until 10th February 2024. Although most tickets for the run have sold out, there are still ways to try and secure a last minute ticket, whether via the daily £15 standing tickets released online at 12pm/midday, or the Donmar Daily tickets, through which some tickets may be released online at 10am 7 days before performances. There does also seem to be a returns queue, said to start an hour before the show, but I don’t know yet how that is working, but if I hear more, I’ll update this post. For more details on the show and ticket availability, visit: Donmar Website – Macbeth
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