MACBETH

 Storyhouse. Chester

Adapted & directed by Jamie Sophia Fletcher 

Until 21st March 2026

Review by Brian Gorman 

"Something lurid, this way comes..."

It's one of the most popular Shakespeare plays. Famous speeches, a timeless plot, indelible characters, and a short running time (relatively speaking). So, not surprisingly, a top choice for a production aimed at the younger generation, with the focus on making the 400 year old text accessible to a modern audience.

So, on a sparse thrust stage, we had bright, multicoloured neon lights, lots of projected images and video footage, and occasional snapshots of isolated text - "TRAITOR", "TYRANT", etc. (Set and lighting design by Andrew Exeter). The young students in the audience certainly enjoyed it, several waving their arms during the outrageously superfluous dance sequences. A relentless avalanche of "Sound and fury"!

Modern dress needn't necessarily detract from the classic drama and atmosphere of this darkest of Shakespeare offerings, but when we have the blood-stained Macbeths trudging around in day-glow boxer shorts and oversized fluffy slippers, the usual dread and suspense is dishearteningly diluted.

Yolanda Ovide as Lady Macbeth 

Jamie Sophia Fletcher directs as though she has a serious case of Chronophobia, as we're whisked through the story, with everything ending prematurely with Macbeth's beheading (effectively created through split-second timing of lighting effects and dramatic image projection).

Turning the much-loved 'Scottish play' into a brash, perky, 'dramedy' is a brave move. By introducing Lady M sitting on the toilet, Macbeth stalking King Duncan (an endearing Marc MacKinnon, channeling his inner Peter Ustinov) in his boxer shorts and rainbow coloured socks, Lady Macduff and her child's brutal slaughter climaxing in a cheery 1940s song, and the hiring of Banquo's murderers played like a Reeves and Mortimer sketch, we're straying dangerously into David Lynch territory. Does it work? For the kids it certainly did (and, to be fair, a good number of the adults). For me? Well, I've seen quite a few Macbeths over the years, including classic turns by Kenneth Branagh, Antony Sher, and Pete Postlethwaite, each redefining the role. The lithe and athletic young Robin Morrissey is well up to the job, too. He looks like a guy who could lop off a few heads, and is particularly effective at expressing the man's gradual descent into madness. His return visit to the weird sisters sees him ending up in a filthy ASDA rubbish bin, yet he maintains the dignity of the character, and even adds a delicate touch of subtle physical comedy. It is Morrissey's skill, alongside his formidably demonic Lady M (Yolanda Ovide) that just about keeps the narrative afloat. The bathroom scenes (which, at one point, have a plastic toilet brush utilised as a deadly weapon) initially reduce the leading characters' gravitas, but Lady M's demise is chillingly suggested as we witness her final moments surveying her wrists in the bathtub. 

Robin Morrissey is Macbeth 

Roly Botha deserves a special mention for a spirited, audience-delighting performance as a hyperactive witch, and a cheeky, slutty porter.

All in all, a successful interpretation of a classic text, which has certainly divided opinion. But, I will always salute innovation, bravery, and passion. An unusually young cast was packed with talent, and one or two stars of the future.