Macbeth w/ Ralph Fiennes & Indira Varma - Site Specific

[david]

Just got back from tonight’s performance. I’ll post a proper review tomorrow but I really enjoyed that tonight. A solid production.

[david]

Having had chance to chew over last night's viewing in Liverpool, there is quite a lot to unpack so I'll break this review down into different sections.

1. Venue

The location for the Liverpool leg of the tour wasn't the easiest to get to on public transport. I was coming to the show straight from work last night and the site (The Depot) isn't on any major bus route and requires a good 20 minute walk once you alight from the bus. The nearest train stations are a good 1-2 miles away. As the location is on an industrial park, arriving early before the venue opened, options for somewhere to eat/drink are very limited. The nearest place was a COSTA on a retail park 5 minutes from the venue. 

Ticket checks were very quick with the staff, though my rucksack wasn't searched going into the venue despite many security staff on the venue. Once you pass into the venue you are in a very large open plan foyer area. There was no seating available (people had to ask for it if needed) just a lot of tables. While we waited to enter the auditorium we had some jazz music playing over the speakers. There was also cast board available. There was a bar and looking at the prices, bring your credit card!

2. Merchandise

For those interested there wasn't anything available except a combined programme / brochure. These cost £8 each. It was filled with plenty of production shots, interviews and cast bio's. 

3. Auditorium 

This consist of 2 parts when you walk into it. The 1st part is the setting to give you a sense of a battlefield with burnt out wrecks and vegetation. It looked very impressive and you could take photo's if you wanted. The main auditorium had 3 sides of seating. I will say from my visit that the seating was VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. It was basically conference chair seating with very little padding. I was talking to a couple of people who had the same view and even the school / college kids sat behind me gave the seating the thumbs down. The raking was very good so people sat in front didn't block my view. 

My original ticket was for a 2nd preview sat right at the very back for £35 of the centre block of seatings. However, this show was cancelled and was moved to a different block (same price band) with an slightly diagonal view of the stage but was closer to the stage than my original ticket . I will say that it was an excellent view with nothing missed. The side seating looks to be ok as apart from a table at one side for some of Act 1, I wouldn't say you would get a bad view from any side

I didn't have any sound issues from my seat and the cast were perfectly audile for the entire show. 

I wouldn't say that the production is immersive as the stuff at the Bridge but the gangways and the front of the seating areas are used as an extension to the main stage.

4. The Show

From the notice on the merch booth, Act 1 was running at 70 minutes, Act 2 at 65 minutes and a 20 minute interval. With the show starting at 7.30pm, I was out of the venue by 10.20pm. 

The set is basically a large steel grey house set with 2 side balcony's. The set is then padded out with a few table and chairs when needed.

Done in modern dress, I will say that this is very much a traditional version of the play with no real gimmicks to it allowing the audience to fully engage with the text. I certainly felt that the more supernatural elements of the play (particularly the witches) gave way to the horror and corruption of war. The sound design from Chris Shutt and music from Asaf Zohar evokes the sense of modern day warfare with the occasional sense of supernatural from the witches scenes. The 3 ladies playing the witches look more like 3 students on a night out or at a music festival rather than anything more supernatural. The lighting design from Jai Morjaria also helps conjure up a more supernatural feel when needed (such as the appearance of Banquo's ghost.

As the murderous couple, Fiennes and Varma make a wonderful and watchable pairing with real on stage chemistry. Despite the dark tones on the play, these two are able to find some humour in the play with the Macbeth's relationship, particularly in the Banquet scene in Act 2.  Ben Turner as MacDuff is getting plenty of positive reviews in the press and certainly for me gives some scene-stealing performances in Act 2.

As a complete production I felt that Emily Burns adaptation certainly flowed well and was easy to follow with good pacing (thanks to director Simon Godwin) kept me entertained throughout. The school kids certainly seemed to enjoy seeing the show (though many were just happy to see Voldermort on stage). It didn't leave me scratching my head wondering what was going on at any point. Whilst I wouldn't consider this to be a classic, it was certainly a strong production and definitely worth the watch. 

Rating 4 stars.

[hannechalk]

I have bought a £15 ticket today, to see it on Monday.

I've seen far too many MacBeth-adaptations in recent years, but couldn't let this bargain pass me by!

[justfran]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-67708508

[hannechalk]

I went tonight and thought that the production was excellent!

The acting was outstanding, and light and sound added to the atmosphere brilliantly.

I don't know where people get the idea from the three witches are like yummy mummies on a school run - you've never seen a yummy mummy then. They looked more like mums from the Bristol-areas of Montpellier/Southville/Bedminster. 😉

Kidding aside, I thought they were great.

I was in row X at the top of the auditorium, and thanks to topknot's (see Bad Behaviour) inability to sit still, I ended up having quite a good view.

There are only two days left, but some 'housekeeping' in case anyone is going:

You can park for free in the carpark for the Range. Make sure you park closest to say Travelodge, and you have a quick and easy exit at the end by going in the opposite direction to everyone else. 3 hour limit there. just make sure you do not end up in the car park for the Travelodge or the gym, as there are charges there.

Make sure you're on time. It starts prompt at 7.30pm, and there will be no (re)admittance once it has started. Same goes for when the interval ends.

It was uncomfortably hot, so don't dress too warm. If I could I would have sat there in my bra, but didn't want to give people nightmares and end up being mentioned on Bad Behaviour.

Programmes are now sold out, unfortunately. Real shame I couldn't get one. The only other merchandise I saw were mugs and I think tote bags.

They do not check bags, so you can bring in your own supplies.

Funnily enough I realised at interval I was sat near another Lady MacBeth (and former Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons) - Tracy Spencer, who played her at the Epstein in the production by Daniel Taylor Productions.

[hannechalk]

If anyone is going to London or Edinburgh, could you please get me a programme? I can pay by PayPal or bank transfer.

Many thanks!

[Courfeyrac]

Decided to actually go down to Edinburgh to see this, after debating about travel plans, and it was more than worth the hassle.

Was in Row Q, which was the top-most row in one of the corners, and despite my concerns, had an excellent view. The rake didn't seem as high as described in Liverpool, and there definitely wasn't a row X so sounds like the seating doesn't tour alongside the set. Seating wasn't too bad, a bit low on leg room but not the worst seats I've ever had.

The location really wasn't ideal in terms of location. The official transport recommendations suggested getting to the Ingliston Park & Ride which is a 15min walk away from the venue, down some back streets alongside the airport, or pay £10 for parking on site. Didn't really fancy doing that solo, so bribed a friend by offering to pay half of their ticket and the parking fee for a lift. Judging by the direction people were heading after the performance, it seemed like a majority decided to just pay the £10 parking onsite, but there were some people walking up the road.

There's more merchandise than Liverpool - in that there were programmes, tote bags and posters. The programmes were £10 in Edinburgh and decided to not ask about the other 2 items.

Show ran to time, and finished around 10:10 for us.

I basically agree with the reviews others have posted - cast was very strong, the lighting had some great impactful moments. The production also made fantastic use of the space with cast members appearing everywhere in the mini-arena.

I think I enjoyed it more than the Donmar production in terms of seeing Macbeth, but the Donmar featured Scottish accents and folk music which I preferred. As for between Tennant and Fiennes... it's too close to call.

Dec 22, 2023 18:35:04 GMT hannechalk said:

If anyone is going to London or Edinburgh, could you please get me a programme? I can pay by PayPal or bank transfer.

Many thanks!

Apologies, only just seen this when I found the thread. Hope someone else will see this request in time.

[Dave B]

A week long extension, runs now until March 30th.

[happysooz2]

I just saw an email about this. I’m surprised, because the last time I looked for tickets, it didn’t seem to have sold that well. Maybe things have picked up in the last couple of weeks. I’m still waiting for the prices to drop 😹

[sfsusan]

Dec 13, 2023 19:56:58 GMT david said:

I will say from my visit that the seating was VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. It was basically conference chair seating with very little padding. I was talking to a couple of people who had the same view and even the school / college kids sat behind me gave the seating the thumbs down. The raking was very good so people sat in front didn't block my view. 

I completely agree with this. The seats aren't just conference chairs, they're all connected so if the person next to you crosses their legs, you feel the movement in your own seat. And if your ss isn't skinny, you may be bumping butts with the stranger in the next seat. Luckily, the young man next to me and I each had empty seats next to us, so were able to avoid that, for the most part. (Three empty seats in my row of 11 seats.)

Dec 13, 2023 19:56:58 GMT david said:

As a complete production I felt that Emily Burns adaptation certainly flowed well and was easy to follow with good pacing (thanks to director Simon Godwin) kept me entertained throughout. ... It didn't leave me scratching my head wondering what was going on at any point. Whilst I wouldn't consider this to be a classic, it was certainly a strong production and definitely worth the watch. 

Again, completely agree. This is the production that supplies the context (motives, emotions) that the David Tennant production lacks. Although I thought the witches could have included older women and dressed them as 'collateral damage' in a war.

Can I say I think Ralph Fiennes speaks Shakespeare so understandably (not rushing it and articulating every syllable) that it was a joy to listen to him. Many actors rush the words, and between that and the archaic language, it can be pretty hard to follow. This is a production that glories in (and glorifies) the words.

I'd forgotten how much alliteration is found in Shakespeare's writing, and Mr. Fiennes tended to emphasize that, along with hitting the consonants pretty strongly. His 'b's were particularly bulbous.

One thing to note in getting there, Google Maps has the venue in the wrong spot. When you exit the Canada Water station, set Decathlon as your destination (or look along the broad walkway next to the water. The venue is just beyond Decathlon. The venue is a white, two-story building lined with white lights.

And finding your seat is a bit confusing. Some folks were still wandering as the sound effects signaled that we were in a war zone. If you can't find your seat easily, ask one of the staff. (Probably not the 'soldiers' that are on and around the stage for atmosphere.)

As for seating location, I was in A144 (front row of the right-hand 'short' side). I felt that they played more to that side and the front and wondered if those on the left 'short' side felt distant from the action. There were a few scenes where furniture or people obscured my view (particularly in a scene between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) but on the whole, it was fine. And in his last scene, Fiennes skidded his armor off the stage and into the feet of the gentleman next to me!

Finally, a note about the smoke effects. There is a LOT of smoke! I also heard a lot of coughing from the audience, which could be just winter, but seemed to correspond with the heavier smoke in certain scenes. The last scene really lays the smoke on heavily, almost obscuring the action.

[alexandra]

We found setting Dock X as the destination on google maps was fine and got us there; just don’t use the post code or you’ll end up down the road.

Didn’t like the venue - uncomfortable, and front of house is cold and feels like a football stadium, but with no bar open afterwards for meeting someone. Quite a boring set given the possibilities of the space - I longed for what the Paul Brown/Jonathan Kent combo would have done with it. A lot of money wasted on a few metres of design set-up as you walk in. Several ushers standing around but not offering to show people their seats, which led to crowds of people wandering around not finding them - the ushers need to be more proactive. And I agree, too much smelly smoke at the end which several people waved away, though it isn’t necessary for so many people to cough to let us know they’ve noticed it’s smoky.

Those are the negatives. Positives are that Fiennes is of course excellent. There are no great revelations but it’s clear and satisfyingly bloody and the banquet scene is amusingly done. And there’s a fantastic Seyton in Jonathan Case, who struck us each independently. He’ll go far, or he should.

[shakeel]

Hated this. Absolutely bored to death; and the idea that this is in any way “site-specific” or “immersive” is nonsense. Just a really by the books, bog standard production, aesthetically incoherent and with ugly lighting. Left at the interval, so perhaps the second half was better, but I genuinely couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

[parsley1]

I think the same

Other than Indira Varma who was acting in a different league to everyone else

A totally pointless venture and venue

And added to recent discussion on Macbeth

I do think more and more it’s just not a great play

And that shocked me

But I also think the Rupert Goold staging was an anomaly

And I need to stop seeing it

I also think no one can speak verse now

Actors are generally inferior or given roles in prominent productions beyond their capacity

And directors think it’s fine to have a mishmash of regional accents

Standards have fallen so badly

[vickyg]

I have a ticket for this on the noticeboard for tonight which is now free to a good home if anyone can make it!

[Jan]

I thought this was OK. Very straightforward. No big adjustments to the text except mercifully the porter scene entirely cut. No new insights into the play here and slightly dull unless you are seeing it for the first time. Couldn’t quite make out what Fiennes was trying to do with the character. Probably would have been better if they’d taken it to the RSC and benefitted from their subsidised casting, verse work, design, etc. These commercial Shakespeares always seem undercast outside the leading roles.

[clarefh]

I thought this was pretty underwhelming.

Ralph Fiennes does speak Shakespeare so beautifully but I didn’t get much from his performance really - was almost just like a read through of the play. I love Shakespeare and enjoy ‘straight’ versions of it, but this just seemed a bit lacking in depth and insight ( and consistency?). Perhaps I was expecting too much.

Agree with others Indira Varma was very good.

Wasn’t sure what the point was of it being in the site specific locations really, very uncomfortable and again not particularly imaginative use of the space. Perhaps these do attract a different audience in which case great and makes sense. I’d love to see some data on audiences and where these non traditional theatres do pull in new audiences.

Overall it was just OK. Possibly feel less generous to it as it’s a mighty trek for me to get there!

[alessia]

Feb 27, 2024 9:20:36 GMT clarefh said:

I thought this was pretty underwhelming.

Ralph Fiennes does speak Shakespeare so beautifully but I didn’t get much from his performance really - was almost just like a read through of the play. I love Shakespeare and enjoy ‘straight’ versions of it, but this just seemed a bit lacking in depth and insight ( and consistency?). Perhaps I was expecting too much.

Agree with others Indira Varma was very good.

Wasn’t sure what the point was of it being in the site specific locations really, very uncomfortable and again not particularly imaginative use of the space. Perhaps these do attract a different audience in which case great and makes sense. I’d love to see some data on audiences and where these non traditional theatres do pull in new audiences.

Overall it was just OK. Possibly feel less generous to it as it’s a mighty trek for me to get there!

I didn't see the point of the location/site specific either. It had a bit of Punchdrunk feel about it while you were walking in, but after that it was just an average set and not particularly original either, I'd say quite dull looking. I also agree that Indira Varma was great, she outshone Fiennes for sure. 

[lichtie]

For me Varma was the only real positive. When I was there the audience were laughing at certain scenes and I swear Fiennes was playing along with them. Nor do I think just speaking clearly is necessarily a benefit to something like this. The problem with Macbeth is that actors seem to fail to get the motivation of the character (admittedly a bit tough given Shakespeare cobbled together different bits of history to pad out the second half). I never had a sense that Fiennes really captured that.

[takeabow]

Interesting to read everybody’s thoughts on this production.

We were lucky enough to catch both London productions and definitely left Fiennes’ version more upbeat than Tennant’s. Actually thought Fiennes performed Macbeth well with the menace and vulnerability required, something we felt was lacking in Tennant’s portrayal. Also thought Indira Varma was significantly stronger than Cush Jumbo. Though, admittedly, comparing the two is unfair - two completely different productions.

Nevertheless, the immersive element definitely could have been improved - especially considering the lack of traditional theatre limitations.

On the bright note for the Donmar show, the headphones were quite a fantastic addition and definitely an innovative take.

[clarefh]

It is interesting to read the different takes. I saw both this and the Donmar and much preferred David Tennant’s Macbeth - he felt consistent and believable in his motivations and what drove him, which I didn’t get from Fiennes.

[jacklondon]

A perfectly fine production for as much of this as I saw, but didn't really feel excited by this. This was a pity as I needed it to be good to take away from the pain of the really uncomfortable seating at Dock X in Canada Water!



I was up in row L and the seat pitch there was really tight. One older chap nearby simply couldn't fit his legs into his seat but luckily front of house found him somewhere else to go. Another chap had his knees hunched up as his legs wouldn't fit into the narrow space in front. All the interval talk around me on the way out to the foyer seemed to be about knee pain. I don't know whether it was this that caused all the walkouts, but we had at least 10 in the first half tonight.

I bailed at the interval, which I very rarely do, as I just couldn't face round two in those seats!

[zahidf]

A decent version of Macbeth, but the seats are REALLY awful

[mistressjojo]

Feb 27, 2024 23:05:10 GMT jacklondon said:

A perfectly fine production for as much of this as I saw, but didn't really feel excited by this. This was a pity as I needed it to be good to take away from the pain of the really uncomfortable seating at Dock X in Canada Water!



I was up in row L and the seat pitch there was really tight. One older chap nearby simply couldn't fit his legs into his seat but luckily front of house found him somewhere else to go. Another chap had his knees hunched up as his legs wouldn't fit into the narrow space in front. All the interval talk around me on the way out to the foyer seemed to be about knee pain. I don't know whether it was this that caused all the walkouts, but we had at least 10 in the first half tonight.

I bailed at the interval, which I very rarely do, as I just couldn't face round two in those seats!

Saw this about two weeks ago & also left at the interval, mainly due to the uncomfortable seating. It was also very cold that night which meant everyone was sitting in their coats, making the seating even tighter. Every time someone fidgeted the whole  row wobbled. 
I was disappointed they didn't make better use of the space, it could have been so much more interesting & intimate with a more imaginative staging & seating arrangement.

Indira Varma was the standout for me. Would be interesting to swap her with Cush Jumbo in the Donmar version & give her something to act against. 

[fiyero]

The talk of uncomfortable seating worried me so I checked the seating plan to see if I am near the aisle (booked in June so memory foggy) and found my row doesn’t even exist any more. Checked and not had an email. Finally got in to the site and looks like my booking was changed in October. Phoned and eventually got through and they sent me a ticket! How kind!
Starting to dread my visit on saturday

[vickyg]

Feb 28, 2024 20:46:59 GMT fiyero said:

The talk of uncomfortable seating worried me so I checked the seating plan to see if I am near the aisle (booked in June so memory foggy) and found my row doesn’t even exist any more. Checked and not had an email. Finally got in to the site and looks like my booking was changed in October. Phoned and eventually got through and they sent me a ticket! How kind!
Starting to dread my visit on saturday

I’m 99.9% sure I booked an aisle seat as I always do but when I checked the seating plan I was about 6 seats in to the row. One of many reasons I ended up not going!