Autumn Tour 2008
This is a revival of the final ever show at Mull Little Theatre – an acclaimed, innovative and very accessible production which was loved by critics and audiences.
MACBETH by William Shakespeare
Backroom conniving, naked ambition, insider dealing, moral ambiguity, hypocrisy and corruption at the highest levels… an acclaimed dynamic and inventive production with all the elements of thriller, adventure and the supernatural. This is a revival of the final ever show at Mull Little Theatre – an acclaimed, innovative and very accessible production which was loved by critics and audiences.
Reviews
"There's foul whispering abroad for much of this afternoon schools performance of Mull Theatre's look at Shakespeare's darkest couple of hours. Crisp-packet rustling, too, come to that, which at times threatens to drown out director Alasdair McCrone's bijou six-actor version, played out on Alicia Hendrick's wooden bird-house of a set. Fortunately, there's a lot more going on here than in the recent Royal Lyceum production, which appeared to drive most of the front stalls to drink during the performance itself.
There's no fear of that here as Sarah Hawarth's Witch opens the play wheeling on a doll-size pram. The hall of mirrors from which this schizoid sprite appears to conjure up the entire gory saga through some twisted adolescent fantasy re-imagines history with even more sex and death than usual. Hawarth remains onstage throughout, slipping into character as The Porter and others when fate or her own split personality requires it. Such ubiquity reminds one of Alex Norton's similarly haunting Zelig-like turn in Bill Douglas's neglected cinematic masterpiece, Comrades.
The Macbeth that Hawarth's Witch creates is littered with dark entries, from Alan Steele's multi-faceted Thane himself to Beth Marshall's quiet intensity as Lady M. Then there's the hoodied up assassins of the Macduffs and Martin Low's droning medieval score that sounds like a homage to film director Kenneth Anger's more lysergically-inclined rites. Such an elemental approach might be taken further if placed in other hands, but the framing device of Hawarth's Witch by itself restores a supernatural pulse to a play that is all too often invested with a sense of ordinariness which Shakespeare surely never intended." Neil Cooper, The Herald
“A couple of weeks ago I pondered whether a production of Macbeth could ever overcome the audience's familiarity with the spell-casting rhymes of the three witches. An invitation to check out Mull Theatre's version swiftly followed, and indeed this inventive production does just that.
Reflected in two mirrors, Sarah Haworth plays all three weird sisters as a single deranged crone, who knowing sings 'Double, double...' like a twisted nursery rhyme, and oversees the consequences of her predictions like a more devilish version of Puck.
Alicia Hendrick's excellent set, originally designed for the tiny stage of Mull Little Theatre, comprises a multi-purpose wooden structure with two sets of double doors. Scenes are switched quickly and the mirrors are put to effective later use when Lady Macbeth struggles to escape from herself.
Comparisons with the Lyceum's poorly-received production are difficult to avoid; essentially, director Alasdair McCrone gets right most of the elements that Lucy Pitman-Wallace got wrong, and while Alan Steele doesn't quite seem to get under Macbeth's skin – the pace of the production perhaps allowing him insufficient breathing space – Beth Marshall makes a suitably headstrong Lady Macbeth and Paul Cunningham is impressive as Duncan and MacDuff.
The initially restless high school students who packed Motherwell Theatre were quick to snigger at early scenes of weirdness as well as such later lines as 'We were carousing till the second cock' (who could blame them?) but by the time the body count had begun to spiral out of control they were captivated.” Shona Craven, OnstageScotland
CAST
Macbeth – Alan Steele
Lady Macbeth – Beth Marshall
The Witch – Sarah Haworth
Lady Macduff, Banquo – Lesley Hart
Malcolm, Lennox – Fraser Sivewright
Duncan, Macduff – Paul Cunningham
Directed by Alasdair McCrone
Designed by Alicia Hendrick
Music & Sound Design by Martin Low
Costume Design by Shirley Robinson
Lighting & Technical by Mick Andrew
| DATE | SHOW | VENUE | TIME | TEL |
| AUGUST | ||||
| Thu 28 | MACBETH preview | Druimfin, Tobermory | 8pm | 01688 302828 |
| Fri 29 | MACBETH preview | Druimfin, Tobermory | 8pm | 01688 302828 |
| Sat 30 | MACBETH first night | Druimfin, Tobermory | 8pm | 01688 302828 |
| SEPTEMBER | ||||
| Wed 3 | MACBETH | Dalrymple Hall, Fraserburgh | 7.30pm | 01346 515153 |
| Thu 4 | MACBETH | Ogstoun Theatre, Gordonstoun School, Elgin | 8pm | 01343 837837 |
| Fri 5 | MACBETH | Lonach Hall, Strathdon | 8pm | 01975 651779 |
| Sat 6 | MACBETH | McLaren Hall, Killin | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Tue 9 | MACBETH | Innellan Village Hall | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Wed 10 | MACBETH | Lochgoil Village Hall | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Thu 11 | MACBETH | Ardrishaig Public Hall | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Fri 12 | MACBETH | Victoria Hall, Campbeltown | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Sat 13 | MACBETH | Kilmelford Village Hall | 7.30pm | 01688 302828 |
| Mon 15 | MACBETH | The Sunart Centre (Ŕrainn Shuaineirt), Strontian | 8pm | 01397 709228 |
| Wed 17 | MACBETH | Mallaig & Morar Community Centre | 10.30am | 01687 460380 |
| Thu 18 | MACBETH | Aros Centre, Isle of Skye | 7.30pm | 01478 613750 |
| Sat 20 | MACBETH | Lochcarron Village Hall | 8pm | 01688 302828 |
| Mon 22 | MACBETH | Gairloch Community Hall | 7.30pm | 01445 781783 |
| Tue 23 | MACBETH | Lochinver Hall | 8pm | 01571 844262 |
| Wed 24 | MACBETH | Carnegie Hall, Clashmore | 7.30pm | 01862 810257 |
| Thu 25 | MACBETH | Resolis Memorial Hall | 7.30pm | 01381 610204 |
| Sat 27 | MACBETH | Bathgate, Royal Community Theatre | 7.30pm | 01506 433634 |
| Tue 30 | MACBETH | Motherwell Theatre | 1.15pm | 01698 403120 |
| OCTOBER | ||||
| Wed 1 | MACBETH | Brunton Theatre | 1.30pm | 0131 665 2240 |
| Thur 2 | MACBETH | FTH Falkirk | 7.30pm | 01324 506850 |
| Sat 4 | MACBETH | Glasgow, GilmorehillG12 | 7.30pm | 0141 330 5522 |
| Tue 7 | MACBETH | St Monans Town Hall | 7.30pm | 01334 475000 |
| Wed 8 | MACBETH | Falkland Palace | 7.30pm | 01334 475000 |
| Thu 9 | MACBETH | Newburgh Town Hall | 7.30pm | 01334 475000 |
| Fri 10 | MACBETH | St Andrews, Byre Theatre | 7.30pm | 01334 475000 |
| Sat 11 | MACBETH | St Andrews, Byre Theatre | 7.30pm | 01334 475000 |
