By Nick Pilgrim
More than any other live space in Melbourne, The Malthouse is known for showcasing bold, experimental, and convention-smashing material. Located in Southbank’s entertainment district, powerful examples from the venue’s eclectic back catalogue include:
- Adrian Bliss – Inside Everyone,
- Anna K,
- Anti-Gravity
- Blaque Showgirls,
- Edward II,
- Every Brilliant Thing,
- Geraldine Quinn – Queen Bitch,
- Gonzo,
- Picnic At Hanging Rock,
- Managing Carmen,
- Reuben Kaye – The Butch Is Back,
- Salome,
- The Beaks – Stickybeak, and
- The Good Person of Szechuan.
Written by William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) and believed to be first performed in 1606, Macbeth is the author’s most overt and graphic drama.
In short, the tale opens with three witches informing Macbeth, an army general, that he will become the next King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murders the current ruler, thus inheriting the title. Soon however he kills more people out of paranoia. A civil war erupts to overthrow Macbeth, resulting in further death.
Notable interpretations include Roman Polanski’s bloodthirsty motion picture (made two years after his wife’s thrill killing), as well as the Melbourne Theatre Company’s post-apocalyptic study featuring Jai Courtney in the title role.
Written by Zinnie Harris, Macbeth (An Undoing) isn’t the first time Shakespeare’s extensive library has been the launch pad to retool his work. Think Rozencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead (by Tom Stoppard) or indeed & Juliet (by David West Read), and you get the picture.
Macbeth (An Undoing) is the latest example of daring to come from The Malthouse stable. Told from Lady Macbeth’s point of view, Harris assumes that viewers will already know the basic plot. (This understanding is directly addressed to the audience mid-way through the second act. The actress playing Lady Macbeth candidly breaks the fourth wall, sharing that everyone studied it at school.)
Constructed as a play within a play, Macbeth (An Undoing) is as much about deconstructing the public’s fascination with Shakespeare’s tale as it is taking risks and twisting theatrical conventions.
Further to telling the actual story, several lead actors banter with the audience, the crew, and each other. Serious and playful by turns, they also take time out to challenge the narrative’s supposed curse and challenge its predetermined arc as well.
This layered, knowing approach is fresh as it is topical and may also be viewed at a wider angle from our current social and political climate. Why should professional theatre be tightly scripted when our daily lives are not?
Live entertainment is about being welcomed into a space, but experiencing it on the creatives’ terms. Keeping these factors in mind, makes for a satisfying post-show analysis. The experience stays with you long after the lights come up.
The ten-strong troupe is led by Bojana Novakovic (as Lady Macbeth). Very much the hook by which the show hangs, she brings self-aware clout to her meta characterisation. Switching between calculated poise and controlled mayhem, allows us insight into both the unfolding story and the intellectual choices behind it.
Moving like pieces in a marvellous chess game, Novakovic is matched by Natasha Herbert (as Carlin), Johnny Carr (as Macbeth), and Jessica Clarke (Missy / Lady Macduff) beat for beat. They in turn, are competently supported by Tony Briggs (as Ross / Murderer 1), Tyallah Bullock (as Mae / Malcolm), Jim Daly (as Duncan / Murderer 2), Rashidi Edward (as Banquo), Khisraw Jones-Shukoor (as Bloody Soldier / Lennox), and David Woods (as Macduff / Doctor / Murderer 3).
Matthew Lutton brings Harris’ script to life with vision and intent. Under his focussed direction, the strong production team include Dann Barber (Set and Costume Designer), Amelia Lever-Davidson (Lighting Designer), Jethro Woodward (Composer and Sound Designer), Amy Cater (Intimacy Coordinator), Lyndall Grant (Fight Coordinator), Josh Bell (Associate Fight Coordinator), Alice Darling (Besen Placement – Directing), and Ethan Hunter (Besen Placement – Composition and Sound Design).
Macbeth (An Undoing) is very much a brutalist-driven mood piece. Set inside a grey bunker, the overall look alludes to painters like Giorgio de Chirico or the maximum-security prison built for the HBO Series, Oz.
Barber’s rustic grey walls are offset by his period-friendly costumes, and impulsive splashes of colour created at key moments throughout.
Mechanical revolves or turntables are an inventive part of small and large-scale set design. Not since I watched an independent production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along ten years ago in Sydney where the cast performed on a rotating circular platform, has this form of stagecraft been vital to the overall theming of a show. The entire set is constructed to move clockwise and counter-clockwise with the story, trapping them like stricken rats in a maze with no apparent exit.
Special mention to stage management (by Lisa Osborn with assistance from Rosemary Osmond) keeps the show’s momentum fluid and on point. Their impressive work is reinforced by prop placement and costume changes which happen behind the scenes as the show is in progress.
As a collective, Macbeth (An Undoing) becomes a fascinating whodunit in the realm of recent films like Knives Out or See How They Run.
The play runs until July 28 at the Merlyn Theatre.
Images: Jeff Busby
