Macbeth production packs fresh punch

Stephanie von Roretz and Alex Goldrich in Macbeth

Shakespeare’s kilt and claymore play of political ambition is an audience favourite worldwide. The murderous deeds of Macbeth and his pushy wife, as well as the transformative power of regret, are graced by some of the Bard’s most moving poetry, leaving actors and directors moorlands for interpretation.

The Montreal Shakespeare Theatre Company’s vigorous and lively production of Macbeth, directed by Aaron George, has much to recommend it. Kinetic and overt, the play punches like a first shot of highland whiskey. Creative risks and a youthful cast translate into a fresh interpretation, while the choreography and original music lend it a cinematic ambiance.

But some of those strengths become weaknesses, making the production feel uneven. The decision to choose speed over a slower, more introspective pace prevents a sufficient build up of emotional complexity, and the contemporary enhancements demonstrate a fear to trust in the potency of the playwright’s words.

Of all innovations, the most successful is the transformation of the three witches into a Greek chorus of Weird Sisters. This duodecatet of temptresses swirl in and out of scenes like a seductive, supernatural mist. Their insidious, almost sexual aggression contrasts the play’s straightforward, more masculine ambitions of the Scottish elite.

Leads Alex Goldrich as Macbeth and Stephanie von Roretz as Lady Macbeth give solid, physical performances, and some of the other actors add a welcome intricacy to minor characters. In particular, Aris Tyros plays ineffective royal son Malcolm with a honey-tongued thoughtfulness, while Pippa Leslie, in the role of Lady Ross, perfectly captures the shock and confusion of having her simple, dogged loyalty challenged.

The production also commendably uses percussion and sound to build tension. Ace Lopes moves from kit to kit throughout the theatre, and, as a result, the sources of sounds become as mutable as the characters themselves. The Weird Sisters fill in at times as well, whispering or vocalizing an atmospheric soundscape to the otherwise sparse set.

However, these creative decisions sometimes mar the production. By keeping the pace at a high clip, Goldrich’s Macbeth never makes use of time and silence to show his ambivalence about seizing power. Soliloquies that should derive their weight from words are rushed or artificially enhanced. As a result, the action-packed second half of the show — when Macbeth’s hubris and ambition are fully realized — is more coherent than the psychically ambiguous first half.

For example, the “out, out brief candle” soliloquy, where Macbeth mourns the passing of Lady Macbeth, is spoken over a dirge that distracts and cheapens the speech. The audience wants to feel the effect of Lady Macbeth’s suicide, to grapple with Macbeth’s epiphany that life, king, country, and all things human are fleeting. The poetry of this iconic speech is potent enough without a song. Similarly, the “Is this a dagger I see before me?” soliloquy is given with such rapidity that one is left wondering if Macbeth struggles at all with the enormity of the crimes he is about to commit.

Of course, sometimes the contemporary flourishes work perfectly — such as with Banquo’s death. But, at times, it is better to leave things unadulterated, trusting the audience with the Bard’s words sans musical accompaniment and allowing the actors to take beats for introspection. Audiences are capable of appreciating not just action and melodrama, but also emotional complexity. ■

Macbeth runs to Aug. 25. Monument National (1182 St-Laurent), Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m., $25/$20 for students.