The Sigla Blog

Shakespeare’s finest dramaturgical device is perhaps the play within a play, and while Radio Macbeth sticks textually to the Bard’s every word, there is much more than “The Scottish playâ€? unfolding on stage. A cast of radio-era actors, clad in 1930s costumes, gather to rehearse Macbeth. What begins as an informal run-through, quickly becomes an eerie, emotive vehicle for the clash of egos in a production. The setting is sparse: three microphones, a table clad with the detritus of rehearsal and chairs litter the stage and have multiple uses (even as swords). The cast stalk every corner of the stage, and the deserted theatre setting adds to the supernatural terror unfolding before us. Ellen Lauren is haunting and haunted as Lady Macbeth while Kelly Maurer is an ominous chameleon in many roles. The actors use the microphones, sometimes not, often turning their backs on the audience as levels of intrigue and hysteria rise. With Brian H. Scott’s shadowy lighting, this is Shakespeare as noir, but there are pockets of humour too. The political ambition at the play’s heart is as relevant now as it was in Jacobean times and the brilliant SITI ensemble deliver it with visceral force.

Radio Macbeth runs at The Project Arts Centre from October 2nd - 6th at 7.30pm, with a matinee on October 6th at 3pm .