REVIEW: Othellomacbeth - HOME, Manchester

It is an ambitious but exciting feat to simultaneously take on two of Shakespeare’s most well known and loved plays, Othello and Macbeth, and condense them into a single production. To play out both in their entirety would make for a mammoth 6 hour journey. Rest assured this is not the case.

Unfortunately what could've been a fascinating modern fusion of two intimately connected but contrasting tragedies instead descended into a frantic and rather characterless race against time. The plays are performed back to back, mercilessly stripped back with really only the most tenuous of connections.

In both plays the plot moves at such a pace that, without a sound prior knowledge of either plays' narratives, one is only just about able to sustain a basic understanding of the plays’ most simplistic story arcs.The subtleties and nuances are lost in both, by no real fault of the actors on stage, just because of the sheer pace and rash ambition of the production. Huge chunks of the script are scrapped including much of Iago’s iconic soliloquies, leaving most characters on stage seeming very shallow and unrelatable. Without Iago’s whisperings, Othello’s jealous turmoil seems entirely irrational. Without the subtle and manipulative uncertainties of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s bedside conversations, Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness seems completely unwarranted.

The choice of editing is unusual. Whilst lots of the key speeches are missing, Desdemona and Emelia’s characters from Othello are left largely untouched, leaving them now glaringly prominent, where they are usually overlooked. Melissa Johns and Kirsten Foster put in a stellar performance with what little they have to work with here, however the obvious intended message of female empowerment does not ultimately shine through.

Although like watching a play in fast-forward, Othello in isolation does hold some promise. The set design is simple and effective and the approach is different enough to provoke intrigue. However none of this is satisfied in Macbeth, which contains some embarrassingly amateurish moments and the audience is left with nothing but questions. Why is there a sword fight in a modern adaptation? Why is Macbeth wearing armour? Why is Lady Macbeth cradling what looks like a baby? Why has Banquo become a bizarre comedy zombie?

If it is intended as a radical feminist perspective on a familiar Shakespearean story, this premise does not deliver. Whilst it does have its moments, particularly in the first half, there is nothing particularly radical about representations of distressed and abused vulnerable young women. And irrelevant of this, these moments are lingered on for only a moment and create what can only be described as a confusing yet promising prequel to an overwhelmingly disappointing anticlimax.

Reviewer - Oscar Lister

on - 19/9/18