Iqbal Khan directs this latest production of Shakespeare’s bloody and violent tragedy. But what have critics made of it?
The Guardian: *** Michael Billington called it : “a bewildering evening.”
The Arts Desk: “One of the more disappointingly conservative offerings in Emma Rice’s new season, but lacking the old-school Globe continuous engagement.”
The Times: ** Ann Treneman was disappointed saying: “Iqbal Khan’s staging, with its bewitching music and strong leads, could have been so powerful but instead included jokes about Donald Trump.”
The Independent: ***** David Lister was enthusiastic about the production writing: “a thrilling, beautifully spoken production, with the richly evocative music a memorable backdrop to two riveting central performances. This is the Globe at its best.”
The Upcoming: **** “This is a refreshing production of Macbeth, certainly worth a watch.”
The Telegraph: ** Dominic Cavendish commented that: “This production should be called Four Witches and a Funeral – the funeral being for a text that’s strangled and battered by indifferent to terrible verse-speaking.”
Time Out: ** “But it’s hard to escape the feeling that where Emma Rice’s season-opening ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was a shining example of what can go right when you throw out the trad Shakespeare rulebook, ‘Macbeth’ is an example of what can go wrong.”
Evening Standard: ** Henry Hitchings thought that: “The result is a Macbeth that doesn’t pack sufficient emotional punch and lacks tension at key moments.”
The Reviews Hub: *** ” in spite of some very impressive elements, it lacks a clear identity.”
The Financial Times: *** Sarah Hemming felt that: “despite the setting and its current, troubling resonances, this production never really chills the marrow.”
Exeunt Magazine: “the final result is almost enough to make you forgive the miss-hits that came first.”
Macbeth runs at the Shakespeare’s Globe until the 1st October. For more information and to book tickets visit: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/macbeth-2016.