|
|
 |
| |
Worthy of the West End
MACBETH
Theatro Technis
IN his directorial debut, Tarek Iskander has created a production
of Shakespeare’s blood-splattered tragedy that smacks of
extraordinary maturity.
I have seen more than my fair share of fringe theatre and initially
shuddered at the thought that this fledgling had reproduced
it in its entirety.
Iskander was rescued from the 1991 Gulf War when he was living
in Kuwait. He made a dramatic escape by aeroplane.
Anyone with that kind of life experience is in a better position
than most to recreate Shakespeare’s account of the follies
of war.
What follows is a Macbeth with an enormous cast – including
children from nearby schools – which raises the bar for
fringe theatre with a performance so veteran it would be welcome
in any West End theatre. Quite a coup for Theatro Technis.
I once saw a documentary where gang members in America’s
Bronx honoured dead friends by hanging their boots from telegraph
lines.
British soldiers in Iraq do the same and I have seen it happen
in this country too. In Iskander’s Macbeth, the witches
mark the death toll by hanging the character’s boots above
the audience.
This is a streetwise Macbeth, but not in the way that tries
to make Shakespeare cool, with mobile phones or hip-hop, out
of some patronising hope that young minds might pick something
up along the way – like your dad taking you skateboarding.
Iskander resists bringing the play into 21st century England
– his Scottish play is of no fixed abode – allowing
his talented cast to echo the authority of the script, making
its message irresistibly clear.
As Macbeth (Stephen Eliot-McDonald) begins to knock off his
enemies, the tragic cycle of violence and revenge, underpinning
all wars, is clear for all to see.
But the greater tragedy was in the theatre itself – there
were more people acting than watching. Redress the balance.
Recommended.
March 18
020 7387 6617
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK THEATRE TICKETS |
|
|
|
