Shakespeare 4 Kidz - S4K's Macbeth

It is just the porter at Macbeth's Castle - drunk from the previous night's revelry - who brings comedy to this sad tale of pride, power and death and by the end of Act I and King Duncan's murder, Noel Andrew Harron brought light relief with jokes, a jolly song and pantomime interaction.

Apart from that the Scottish Play in this simplified version by Julian Chenery and Matt Gimblett intrigued so much that, amongst an audience mainly of children, you could have heard a pin drop.

A complicated tale in the original, S4K's version managed to keep many of the well known quotes whilst presenting the tale in a more understandable way.

A clever set with central castle doors became inside or outside various Scottish castles, the proverbial blasted heath, the Scottish highlands or England. No change of scenery halted the flow as the location was illuminated above the gates as each scene commenced.

Powerful singing of emotional songs was the particular talent of Macbeth (Jason Lee Scott), Macduff (Kirk Barker) and Lady Macbeth (Emma Odell), but the whole company's vocal ability was put on show by the excellent music and lyrics.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" says the second witch as Macbeth approaches for yet more predictions of his fate. In the S4K's version, the three witches are called the weird sisters, but all three (Samantha Giffard, Kirsty Tibbetts and Richard Foster-King) inveigle around the stage in a fantastical manner, menacing and cackling under intimidating lighting by Liam Devlin.

Costumes, obviously, have a tartan theme with some splendid robes for Kings and Lady Macbeth. Special effects, like the ethereal appearance of Banquo's ghost at the feast, were ably achieved and the sword fights, particularly the final one between Macbeth and Macduff, was thrilling.

Screwing their courage to the sticking place, Messrs Chenery and Gimblett, both of whom live locally, have bravely added Macbeth to their growing library of S4K's transformations which tour both the UK and abroad, bringing interest and understanding to the Bard's plays which, one hopes, will be seen in their original form when the audiences grow up.

Theo Spring

5 stars

What they say about us:
S4K HAMLET: "I just wanted to let you know how much my eleven year old son and I enjoyed the production this evening. It was the first time at the theatre for my son, who showed an interest after visiting The Globe. He suffers from an attention disorder, and rarely have I seen him so rapt. I have certainly never heard him talk so enthusiastically about any form of entertainment. We look forwards to attending tomorrow afternoon for Hamlet. Thank you for enabling me to share something that I particularly enjoy with my son, on a level which is appropriate and useful to him." Parent, Norwich.

What they say about us:

S4K HAMLET: "I just wanted to let you know how much my eleven year old son and I enjoyed the production this evening. It was the first time at the theatre for my son, who showed an interest after visiting The Globe. He suffers from an attention disorder, and rarely have I seen him so rapt. I have certainly never heard him talk so enthusiastically about any form of entertainment. We look forwards to attending tomorrow afternoon for Hamlet. Thank you for enabling me to share something that I particularly enjoy with my son, on a level which is appropriate and useful to him." Parent, Norwich.