Shakespeare’s North Productions’ The Tragedy of Macbeth deserves the enthusiastic support it has received

Jacob Waugh has the stature and presence to play Macbeth in Shakespeare's North Productions' ambitious play. Photo / Cameron Baker

The Tragedy of Macbeth

By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s North Productions

Directed by Eli Hancock

The Dark Room until February 8

Reviewed by Richard Mays

Passion for the Bard is the driver for this punchy production of the Scottish play.

Selected for the 2023 Young Shakespeare Company, Eli Hancock and Jacob Waugh front this trimmed-down, no-frills version of Macbeth with its all-male cast, 90 per cent of whom are teenagers.

A self-produced fundraiser for their trip to England in July, the pair also have a vision for exposing young actors to the intricacies and challenges of performing Shakespeare, while making his plays accessible to younger audiences.

Judging by the response from the performing company, and their paying fans, they have succeeded admirably with full houses making an extra Wednesday performance necessary.

The pair and their cast of nine will gain immensely from this remarkable experience.

While Waugh tackles the title role, Hancock not only makes his debut as a director but also takes on the malicious and scheming Lady Macbeth.

The Dark Room can be a wide awkward space, but this has been managed by seating the audience on three sides of the minimalist set to concentrate the performance, while there are deft production touches throughout.

Not everything works, though.

Passion there may be, but it’s a quality that must be tempered and channelled.

Waugh has the stature and presence for the leading role but misses some of its nuances. There’s a bit much loud remonstrating and not enough expression of the character’s inner manipulator.

He tends to move about instead of focusing audience attention on those pivotal moments when his conflicted character is responding to the supernatural and surrendering to the dark side.

These are appreciations that will come with maturity and life experience.

Hancock is impressive in his early appearances as Macbeth’s ill-fated lady and gets to wear the best dress, though he is less effective later during the famous sleepwalking scene when the character has lapsed into mental derangement.

Taking on a huge responsibility, the young performer has asked a great deal of himself, and perhaps that’s where the burden of producing, first-time directing and lead-role acting showed.

Onstage together though, Waugh and Hancock make quite the power duo.

Notable in multiple support roles are veteran acting kaumātua Phillip Mills as King Duncan, Josh Webster as Banquo, Matthew Wongchoti as Macduff, and Cameron Baker playing Malcolm as well as one of the hired assassins.

Divided roughly into 30-minute halves, the show moves along at a good clip, while the dialogue scarcely misses a beat.

Its patchwork of period-esque costumes including tartan kilts reflects the eclectic anachronistic nature of the production.

Having hooded witches maintain a brooding presence throughout is a great idea, though I would have liked to see their movements choreographed and chanting modulated to better effect.

Accompanied by a trio of live musicians providing atmospheric tones (which they could have done more of), trumpet calls, and other sound effects, the ambitious show thoroughly deserves the enthusiastic support it has received.

This production epitomises what can be achieved when talent, teamwork, hard work, opportunity and passion combine, and will provide a terrific launchpad for further similar endeavours.