Macbeth

Abbey Theatre, til Sat 15 May

Jimmy Fay’s production of the Scottish Play aspires to offer us something of an Irish dimension – an interesting proposition, but one that gets a bit (ahem) bogged down, and while the paganistic sounds emanating from the witches mouths at the start of the play could definitely be part of some ancient Irish druidic ritual, the clunky Cromwellian costumes don’t lend much to the proceedings. Added to this a set which, for the first few minutes, sees the cast clambering over a sort of mud pile to get out on stage, and you could say that this show has the odds stacked against it. But it is, of course, a terrific play, and even though it’s very familiar there are times when the language just reaches out and grabs you, and there are scenes which you could swear you’ve never seen before.

Traditionally Macbeth is portrayed as a great man gone to the bad, but Aidan Kelly’s Macbeth never seems to reach those heights; rather he comes across as someone who has bitten off way more than he can chew, a bit of a gombeen man even – an apt enough parallel given the times we’re in, but unfortunately one that is not convincing on stage, particularly when set beside Eileen Walshe’s performance as his lady wife, passionate, consuming and gut-wrenching. There’s plenty of action, even some nifty sword-fighting, and the large cast get well into the spirit of things, but it somehow doesn’t all quite gel. Staging some of some of the scenes shadow-like behind a raised, back-lit screen is a clever device, but it’s also a bit alienating. The lighting though is superb – murky and malevolent, a dark and gloomy underworld. www.abbeytheatre.ie