Macbeth at the Loft – No Equivocation
Before ‘Macbeth’, the word equivocation appeared only once in Shakespeare’s plays, when Hamlet tells Horatio: ‘We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us’.
The Gunpowder Plot and the focus on Catholic testimonies brought this word to the forefront of Jacobean minds. When Macbeth and Banquo meet the Wyrd sisters there is much that is ambiguous and the Porter’s lines are an obvious use of ambiguity for humour. But let there be no ambiguity or equivocation in this review of The Loft Theatre’s production of Macbeth: it is first class, excellent. Why? Clarity of speech and clear understanding of the text.
Director David Fletcher, with the support of set designer Amy Carroll, has created a bleak landscape on the stage. All wooden tables and wooden posts that hint at the Wild West as well as the potential for Birnham Wood later. The giant bloody fingerprint that marks the flooring is symbolic of all the bloodied hands we encounter in this play. One which canters along and we’re in the bar by 10pm!
Throughout the production there is great use of the full acting space with actors sitting on the apron, charging up stairs through the audience, using audience entrances, and the spotlighting during certain scenes draws us in to focus on key speeches. Top marks must also go to wardrobe department, Helen Brady and Zara Mothersdale for the continuity of costume and the judicious use of waistcoats and bowler hats. The witches looked terrific in their Victorian style undergarments.
And so to the acting. This reviewer recently saw the RSC Macbeth and found it lacking in so many ways. The Loft rewarded me with new insights into characters and speeches. Mark Crossley as Macbeth is all angst and ambition and ultimately confusion. His direct addresses to the audience were captivating. Elaine Freeborn provides perfect light relief as the Porter and looks amazing. Charlie Longman as Malcom comes up trumps in the second half when he seizes the initiative with Macduff, a solidly reliable Peter Daly-Dickson.
But in the end it is the women who impressed me most. The three witches, Helen Dodds, Cheryl Laverick and Joanna Stevely, acted as one unit, looked terrific and frankly were unequivocal in their message. Sophie Jasmin Bird came on first as Fleance, silently in attendance to Banquo, and her every movement was mesmerising. Later, she gave us a distraught Lady Macduff, all pain and torment. Plainly an actor to look out for in the future. And finally, perhaps the real power behind the throne, Julie Godfrey as Lady Macbeth held my attention whenever she was on stage. Her decision to seize the initiative from the outset is clearly understood, her support of her husband is well intentioned and ambitious, her subsequent descent into madness all too real.
If you haven’t seen Macbeth before, go see this, if you have, go see this. You will not be disappointed.
Macbeth runs until Saturday 4th November – tickets here: https://lofttheatrecompany.com/performance/macbeth/
Tony Homer
DownstageWrite 
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