Shakespeare 4 Kidz' Macbeth - Mansfield Palace Theatre

by James Hoy

MANSFIELD theatre goers young and old got as family-friendly version of bloody bard's tale Macbeth as it gets on Wednesday night.
That's not to say production firm Shakespeare 4 Kidz watered down one of the world's most famous tales –– or even spared the audience the blood and violence associated with the story.

Instead the producers focussed on appealing to the whole family by keeping their version of the play understandable, short and entertaining.

It is the tale of the titular character's assent to the Scottish throne, lust for power, and supernatural influence.

Macbeth is how he should be; a fierce warrior, driven to madness and murder by prophesies of his rise to power –- and the wild Lady Macbeth.

The three Weird Sisters are authentic too –– monstrous, sinister and ugly. But in this version they sing and dance as well as telling fortunes –– as do all the characters at some point.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz's presentation works because the stars are equally talented actors and singers.

Combined with a fantastic musical score the singing does much to enhance the digestability of the plot, rather than hinder it.

There were some points where chunks of story line could be lost because of the poor acoustics at Mansfield Palace Theatre.

At times I could not hear a word of what the witches were saying as they sang together, even thought I'm sure they were singing well and at an appropriate volume.

A favourite amongst the younger audience members were the comic relief scene featuring a pantomime porter –– complete with audience participation.

Overall the production - which finishes its run on Friday 11th - is worth watching not only as a stepping stone to fully understanding Macbeth but as an entertaining night at the theatre in its own right.

CLICK HERE to read the review on the Mansfield CHAD website