I've always thought Shakespeare's
Macbeth was more horror story than tragedy. Macbeth lacks the stature and nobility of Shakespeare's other tragic figures, and he heads down the irrevocable path of doom so early in the play. As with
Titus Andronicus, the real fun of the play is the shock you feel at Macbeth's increasingly calculated bloodthirsty deeds, and the anticipation that he will get his just deserts in the end. Yet the play has this incredible poetry.
Ovation Theatre Company's current production of Macbeth is a muscular piece -- a clear and logical speaking of the text, with a command of character and the formality required for staging Shakespeare in the round at the Aronoff Center's Fifth Third Bank Theater. Costumes are crisply contemporary, and the setting is the neutrality of the playing space. Director Joe Stollenwerk keeps the pace brisk, with actors sweeping from scene to scene with music by Stravinsky as an ominous underscore.
What the production skimps on, however, is crucial to our full enjoyment of Macbeth. The spareness of line readings leaves little room for wonder or even contemplation. Macbeth (Jeff Groh) really begins to lose touch with reality when he imagines, "Is this a dagger which I see before me?" Where is the intense horror he must be feeling? Instead of trying to hide Macbeth's madness from the assembled company at the banquet, Lady Macbeth (Andrea Sayre-Brook) telegraphs her mortification to all, minimizing the possibility for suspense.
The actors don't always take their time with the poetic passages, key to the ambiguous, mysterious atmosphere of the play. "This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red" is a great image, and we're cheated if an actor doesn't render it with maximum emotional color. To be fair, Groh's final "tale told by an idiot" speech is an unparalleled reading of Macbeth's bitter contempt.
Standouts among a large cast include Patrick Downey as an expressive and congenial Banquo, Liza Forrester -- especially straightforward and sympathetic as Lady Macduff, and Michael Monks in a nuanced and self-assured performance as Malcolm. Grade: B
MACBETH, presented by Ovation Theatre Company, continues through April 16.
