"Screw your courage to the sticking place" and see James McAvoy play Macbeth

It seems that tickets to see James McAvoy play Macbeth at the Trafalgar Studios (until April 27) are so hot they are being sold for £100 each - double the face value!

A shot of the program

Fortunately, we booked well in advance and did pay face value for seats in the second row which, if you've been to the intimate Trafalgar Studios before, you can appreciate that while you have an excellent view of the actors and the action, you are also in very real danger of being spat on! My friend Vanessa was justifiably worried that James McAvoy might go one better and vomit on us, as vomiting was a requisite part of his performance in this production! I won't spoil it for those of you who might be going to see it by explaining why...

Let's just say that if you have a weak stomach, McAvoy's intense Macbeth (and we got very good views of his steely blue eyes gazing fixedly into the audience), together with the spit, vomit, blood and guts may not be for you. If none of these things bother you, however, then this production is a must see.

Directed by Jamie Lloyd and nominated for two Olivier awards, it is set in a futuristic, dystopian Scottish wasteland, with the witches in gas masks rising out of hazy smoke (so therefore also not so good if you're asthmatic). Interestingly, all the actors speak with Scottish accents (some more successfully than others), adding to the authenticity and making the play more menacing. 

I personally felt that there was a lack of chemistry between McAvoy's Macbeth and Claire Foy's Lady Macbeth (though I loved her in Little Dorrit, The Promise and Upstairs, Downstairs), although Vanessa strongly disagreed, pointing out that Lady Macbeth was a difficult character to play as she is given little introduction and is not very likeable. On the other hand, Allison McKenzie was a stand out as Lady Macduff, and her loving interactions with her young son made her slow, torturous death all the more agonising.

It seems the curse of the Scottish play continues - McAvoy has so far had to interrupt his performance at least 3 times: to help an audience member who collapsed, to berate a man for filming the show on a mobile phone, and to tell some drunken ladies to "Shut it" for talking loudly during the Banquo banquet scene!

The Globe on Screen

My favourite theatre in the world, the Globe in London, has announced a series of international screenings of some of its shows, similar to the National Theatre Live concept.

In September-October 2012, audiences in Australia and New Zealand will get to experience some of the Globe's top shows from 2011 in the comfort of a cinema in their hometown. Click here for more details and the trailer.

The three shows from 2011 that will be featured are All's Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing and Doctor Faustus. The Globe's Much Ado, starring Eve Best and Charles Edwards as the quarrelling lovers, faced stiff competition last year from the West End Much Ado which had Doctor Who's David Tennant and Catherine Tate at its helm. To the Globe's credit, their production received just as gushing reviews, and in fact some theatregoers preferred it for its authenticity.

I went to see the Globe's Doctor Faustus in London last year, mostly because I had studied it at uni but never seen a production before. Also, because Arthur Darvill (Rory from Doctor Who) was playing Mephistopheles. It was of the Globe's usual high quality, but a bit too panto for my liking. Not sure whether this was because of the play, the acting or the production!

Globe on Screen will definitely be worth a look. More details to be released soon.