Loathsome and utterly compelling

Macbeth
Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple
Review: Andrea Foster

SHAKESPEARE 4 Kidz (S4K) returned to Barnstaple with the dark tale of Macbeth.

Could the company — as its name implies — make the blood soaked story of ambition, murder and madness into something understandable and entertaining for children?

Well, they certainly had plenty to work with; black magic, witches, prophecies — all great stuff for a younger generation brought up on Hogwarts.

And the opening scenes with the three witches, certainly grabbed everyone by the collective throat. What a start!

Played by Samantha Giffard, Kirsty Tibbetts and Richard Foster-King, they were so loathsome and utterly compelling to watch, they had me totally riveted.

The choreography was excellent, too; I'm almost tempted to say they were the stars of the show.

S4K, using a mixture of modern language, humour, song and dance — plus a smattering of original text — told the story in their own unique way. Atmospheric lighting and clever effects, provided a visual feast. The 'appearance' of Banquo's ghost was done particularly well.

I found the whole thing easy to follow and I think most of the children did, too.

But even if a few lost the plot here and there — some of the audience were very young — I don't think that affected their enjoyment as a whole.

My 10-year-old daughter, who had already seen the afternoon performance with her school, couldn't wait to go back for a second showing in the evening. That's high praise indeed from someone who normally prefers Hannah Montana.

The key characters were in fine voice.

Aidan Slater, as King Duncan, easily commanded the stage in earlier scenes and Jason Lee Scott, as Macbeth, gave a strong performance of the loyal hero turned murderer in his bid for the throne.

There was a humorous interlude from the porter, Noel Andrew Harron, with some 'knock knock' jokes that were so terrible they were good. That went down well with the youngsters.

And the display of Scottish dancing was wonderful to watch.

Catchy songs — How do you Murder a King?, Banquo Must Go and Out, Damned Spot, to mention a few — helped everyone to keep up with key episodes in the plot.

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