Shakespeare 4 Kidz - S4K Macbeth - Mid Somerset New, Weston Review 3 Feb 2003

MID SOMERSET NEWS

The Playhouse, Weston Super Mare – 3 Feb 03

Shakespeare was never this gripping when I was at school. The Shakespeare 4 Kidz Theatre Company served up a masterpiece of entertainment at The Playhouse, Weston Super Mare last Tuesday. The fast moving action and the tension kept kids of all ages on the edge of their seats throughout, although this was eased from time to time with some highly amusing interludes.

Local lad from Nailsea, Ben Langley warmed up the audience with his jokes and juggling, before taking on the roles of Donalbain, Fleance and Siward. The scene setting was superb as the plot and characters were established in an entertaining way, before the excellent three witches performed ‘Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair.’ Their movements encapsulated their magical powers in each scene they played.

Original text was blended with modern language and some brilliant songs. Lisa Williams as Lady Macbeth shone throughout and her rendition of ‘You’d Better Leave It Up To Me’ had more than a touch of Liza Minnelli, whilst the scene where she performed ‘Out Damned Spot’ was really moving.

The play has many different locations and these were innovatively handled by the name of the site being projected on to the scenery. This idea ensured the pace never slackened. As the evil Macbeth, Stephen Paget was convincing throughout, conveying his dilemma in ‘How Do You Murder A King?’ to great effect. The Macbeth song sounded like a mediaeval chant. Whilst his guests sung ‘Scotland Forever’ at a Macbeth banquet, he saw the realistic ghost of the murdered Banquo and was most convincingly going mad.

Will Finkenrath as the Porter had everyone in stitches, as he sang a ditty bemoaning his fate. A child from the local Stagecoach Theatre Arts School captivated the audience with his acting and moved them to tears as he was slain. Matthew Harper was ideally cast as the angry but loyal Macduff, who triumphed over the evil Macbeth in a sword fight, thus restoring the throne to Malcolm, the rightful king. This was only after another personal highlight, which was Macbeth’s brilliant rendition of ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow.’

Time flew by and all the kids in the audience, from six to seventy-six, remained entranced to the very end, as reflected in the rapturous applause. This was one of the highest quality productions it has been my pleasure to see in a very long time. My whole family endorsed this feeling and we’ll be at the head of the queue for tickets for future productions by Shakespeare 4 Kidz.

Mike Elliott

What they say about us:
"I am a 5/6 teacher from a small, village primary school. ... I was at first a little worried about whether the children would follow the story. We had talked about it in the morning and seen the animated video, but I could see some puzzled faces over the plot complications. However, your version was just the perfect blend - enough actual Shakespearian language to get the flavour of the play, great knockabout scenes and wonderful songs that had us bouncing in our seats."

What they say about us:

"I am a 5/6 teacher from a small, village primary school. ... I was at first a little worried about whether the children would follow the story. We had talked about it in the morning and seen the animated video, but I could see some puzzled faces over the plot complications. However, your version was just the perfect blend - enough actual Shakespearian language to get the flavour of the play, great knockabout scenes and wonderful songs that had us bouncing in our seats."