“...the Globe has opted for a staging that is young, condensed, and funnier than usual for its own take – though the latter innovation is not always a good thing.”
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“The evening is at its most compelling in exploring anxieties about succession, and the childless Macbeth’s crazed perception of the threat posed by others’ vulnerable offspring.”
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“This ‘Macbeth’ is restlessly watchable... What this modern-dress staging is saying more generally is difficult to determine, notwithstanding a provocative programme essay about Shakespeare’s tragedy as a prologue to totalitarian misrule.”
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“There’s enough texture, surprise and dark humour in this staging to keep a Globe crowd happy, even in our current soggy summer. But a more decisive execution would have made its nightmares more memorable.”
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“With a choir underscoring the piece with haunting melodies, the elements are there to create an intriguing, chilling version of the famous play. Instead, it all feels a little off-kilter and underdeveloped.”
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“Joseph Payne’s sweet but naive Malcolm seems no more suited to power than Duncan or Macbeth and it seems clear that Scotland will soon require another leader, who may in turn disappoint – one of the ways in which Shakespeare’s tragedy of ambition feels darkly aligned to our times.”
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