The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Macbeth at Abney Park Theatre

Macbeth at Abney Park Theatre | Theatre review
18 July 2014
Miriam Karmali
Miriam Karmali
Avatar
Miriam Karmali
18 July 2014

Set in Abney Park, a cemetery, Macbeth is a fitting story to be retold. A play in promenade, the audience is required to literally follow the actors through the park, the cemetery and its eerie surroundings providing an ideal setting for the play. The walk begins and the audience arrives upon the first scene of Paul Linghorn’s version of Macbeth; an action scene in which it feels as if one has genuinely stumbled upon a fight in a forest. The three witches appear and Shakespeare’s beautifully macabre writing rings out among the trees and the gravestones, an incredibly unique way of enjoying Shakespeare’s classic.

The three witches herd the audience around the impressive park, their lively and wonderfully weird performances involving the audience in the action as much as possible. Although resorting to audience participation can often fall flat and seem gimmicky, this did not detract from the piece and contributed to involving members of the audience who were perhaps not diehard fans of Shakespeare.

Katy Mulhern’s portrayal of an insane and power hungry Lady Macbeth is captivating, her first scene in which she reads a letter from Macbeth immediately conveying the impending doom and tragedy. Her bright pink dress contrasts with the nature of her character and the gloomy surroundings, the trees blotting out the sunny evening. As the play progresses, the audience is led to the scene of the banquet in which Macbeth’s guilt emerges in the form of insanity. Banquo’s (Porl Matthews) bloody ghost hovering in between the trees is unnerving and conveys effectively the feeling of horror felt by Macbeth at seeing such an apparition.

While unconventional, experiencing Macbeth as a promenade performance in a setting such as Abney Park is certainly interesting and allows for the audience to gain a different perspective, especially for those that have encountered the work before. Linghorn’s ingenious adaptation of the Scottish play will appeal to all fans of Shakespeare – just be prepared to do some walking.

★★★★★

Miriam Karmali

Macbeth is at Abney Park until 27th July 2014. For further information or to book visit the show’s website here.

Related Itemsmacbethopen airreviewshakespearetheatre

More in Theatre

A Livestream with David Bedella at Crazy Coqs Online

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Undercover at Morpheus Show Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Playing ON: An interview with Jim Pope on life-changing theatre

Georgia Howlett
Read More

Sunset Boulevard at Curve Theatre Online

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Hip Hop Cinderella

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Theatre in 2020: a recap (and an outlook for 2021)

Michael Higgs
Read More

A new world of theatre: Aimie Atkinson on groundbreaking theatre platform Thespie

Ezelle Alblas
Read More

Dick Whittington at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

Living Newspaper: A Counter Narrative – Edition Two at the Royal Court Theatre

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Dates

16th July - 27th July 2014

Price

£10-£12

Links & directions

WebsiteNo map

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Outside the Wire
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • You Me at Six – Suckapunch
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • A Livestream with David Bedella at Crazy Coqs Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Blithe Spirit
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Away
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Imperial Blue
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Diesel on Tour: The Final Battle – Klaxons vs Clean Bandit | Live review
The Last Days of Limehouse at Limehouse Town Hall | Theatre review