Ralph Fiennes' Macbeth relishes its gory side

This week: Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma in Macbeth, Lost and Found at Aviva Studios, Evocation at Avenue HQ, The Power of Holly Johnson

Nov 25, 2023

Outside The Depot in Liverpool where Macbeth is currently playing

There’s a reason Macbeth is known as the unlucky play, at least in my personal experience. Since studying the tragedy for GCSE English, and later reviewing various different productions of it for the Liverpool Daily Post, I have seen Macbeth more times than I can remember without concentrating really hard, but it’s impossible to forget some of the things that have gone wrong:

Royal Shakespeare Company production at Stratford in 1994: Macduff’s baby’s head fell off and bounced off the stage.
Liverpool Shakespeare Festival production at Liverpool Cathedral in 2007: The police were called out to tackle yobs fighting in St James Gardens, which was actually Burnham Wood loudly advancing on Dunsinane.
Final ever production held in the old Everyman Theatre in 2011: Leading lady Jemma Redgrave pulled out less than three weeks to opening night, citing “personal reasons”.

Let’s just say I was watching very closely at The Depot on Monday night as Ralph Fiennes as Macbeth backed closer and closer to what looked like real candles on stage. Fortunately he made it through to the curtain call unscathed in a fast-paced production that very much relishes the gory side of Shakespeare’s tale of doomed ambition.

I bought my ticket for the play rather than being given a press ticket - a palaver that involved website crashes, broken links and a nerve-wracking drive through the North East countryside with no phone signal - so I was prepared to sit back and just enjoy the drama without my analytical reviewer’s brain in gear. However, as a lack-of-babysitter situation meant I went alone and had nobody to autopsy the show with afterwards, I can’t resist sharing some of my thoughts with you.

Don’t expect the full script. This is an abridged version with basically anything that doesn’t drive the plot forward removed. There’s no Porter for example.
If you’re squeamish be prepared to close your eyes - a lot:. Director Simon Godwin makes the most of the violence and gore. There’s a lot of dramatic throat-slitting and gushing blood, so much in fact that the stagehands have to wipe it up during the interval.
The pared down production highlights the poetry of Shakespeare’s language.
Ralph Fiennes, as expected, is very good, almost underplaying some of the lines so that his arrogance and anger really hits home in the final scenes.
Indira Varma as Lady Macbeth is even better. Persuading Macbeth to murder Duncan is a doddle for a woman with this charisma. Her descent into madness was heart-breaking to witness.
Paying the extra for a seat nearer the stage, if you can, is worth every penny. It’s played in the round so there’s no bad vantage point, but if you want to see the faces of the stars that are the main reason you’ve booked then it’s worth buying a more expensive seat. They are pricey though, and there are tickets available from £15 if you would rather pay less. I went for row H, which was not the most expensive option but it still cost £80. I could see everything well.

Macbeth is at The Depot in Liverpool until December 20 and then tours to Edinburgh, London and Washington DC. Tickets available here.

Stored Honey’s new membership scheme

If your weekly dose of Stored Honey leaves you wanting more, you can now join our new membership scheme to receive exclusive additional content including:

The Stored Honey podcast: A monthly chat between artists, musicians, theatre-makers, actors, curators and other creatives about the things they’re buzzing out.
A monthly guide of highlights to help you plan your spare time and ensure you won’t miss out on the best exhibitions, shows, events and festivals taking place across the North West.
Access to the Stored Honey archives - editions will be archived three-weeks after publication when they will only be available to Hive members.

It costs £4 per month (£40 for an annual subscription) and will go a huge way to helping ensure that Stored Honey can continue to support the work of artists and creatives into the future.

But don’t worry if this isn’t for you - weekly Stored Honey editions will remain free to all subscribers.

We’re Also Buzzing About…

Olly Taylor in Lost and Found Rehearsals, English Touring Theatre. (Pic: David Levene)

Lost and Found: Oliver Jeffers’ much-loved children’s book about the friendship between a boy and a penguin is being brought to life on stage at Manchester’s Aviva Studios. The first photos of rehearsals have just been released, see above, with the show running from December 14 to January 6. Tickets, priced £16-24, with an affordable option at £7.50-12.50 from here.
Evocation: This weekend is your last chance to catch this exhibition of work by the staff at Tate Liverpool, which is being shown opposite the gallery’s new home at Mann Island. The show, at Avenue HQ, features a wide range of different styles and subjects. Highlights include Louise Waller’s clay creations (read an interview with her for Stored Honey here), C James Fagan’s collages of sunsets and strange buildings and Jonathan Beaver’s organic textile works that incorporate locally gathered moss. It ends on Sunday.
The Power of Holly Johnson: A new exhibition documenting the life and work of pioneering musician, songwriter and artist Holly Johnson has been announced by Liverpool arts organisations Homotopia and DuoVision. Over the next 12 months, the project will explore his personal archive and work with Merseyside based LGBTQIA+ sexual health and wellness charity Sahir House, and will capture the stories of local LGBTQIA+ people in community workshops and oral history sessions. Dates and a venue are yet to be announced but National Museums Liverpool is supporting the research.

Thank you for reading Stored Honey. I have a long list of things I want to write about in upcoming editions - but I’m always willing to add to it. So if there’s something you’re looking forward to seeing or taking part in, please do get in touch on X/Twitter, in the comments or you by dropping me a line at tostoredhoney@gmail.com.

And if you’ve missed any recent editions you can see them below.

Have a great week,

Laura