Macbeth
At Bard on the Beach until Sept. 20
Tickets: 604-739-0559
bardonthebeach.org
I had no idea war could be so neat and tidy. Mara Gottlers handsome costumesgrey or brown longcoats with subtly-hued tartan shawls clipped at the shoulderlook as if theyve just come back from the drycleaners and they stay that way. Are these Scottish warriors, returning war-weary but victorious after putting down a rebellion? Bob Frazer (Macbeth), the hero of the day, hasnt a hair out of place. The only one who looks like hes seen action is actor John Murphy, the sergeant who delivers the news of Macbeths valor to Duncan, King of Scotland. Murphys leg is bandaged and bloody; mysteriously, he limps in every other roleand there are many. I was worried that Murphy had injured himself in one of Nick Harrisons terrific choreographed battle scenes. But its just one of Miles Potters directorial choicessome of which dont make a lot of sense.
The Weird Sisterslooking like fashion plates rather than the wild, cauldron-stirring creatures of the Scottish moorsare not masked when they speak to each other but don masks when they confront Macbeth. Why?
Later, Macbeth is circled by shrouded figures holding large shards of mirror upon which are painted facesmaybe all the faces of those hes had murdered? It looks good but we know Macbeth doesnt need mirrors to see himself mired in guilt.
Frazer makes a handsome Macbeth, but his characters decline into madness comes very quickly thereby stripping away the possibility of us seeing our own potential for wickedness as a parallel to his. In the programs directors notes, Potter quotes scholar Lisa Low: We listen to Macbeth as we listen to the beatings of our own heart... we sense the height and depth of our own evil. This Macbeth barely pauses before, at the urging of Lady Macbeth (Colleen Wheeler), the height and depth of his evil is fully realized.
Kevin McAllisters austere, Gothic-looking set is appropriate to the grim nature of the play. In the first half, a faux-granite scrim blocks the view of Vanier park trees and the North Shore mountains. In the second half, the scrim is drawn up and there we see what could be leafy Birnam Wood beyond the sets arches. Composer/sound designer Murray Prices heavily percussive score is effective and the bagpipes at the end get the blood coursing.
Frazer and Wheeler are beautifully matched. Potter, like most contemporary directors of Macbeth, emphasizes the sexual excitement between them and uses Lady Macbeths assault on Macbeths manhood as the spark that sets fire to his ambition. When Frazer runs his tongue from Wheelers collarbone up to her chin, we feel the full extent of their attraction. (Whew, it suddenly gets hot and steamy on such a cool evening under the big tent.) Later, when Macbeth rejects her, the groundwork for Lady Macbeths suicide is laid. Statuesque Wheeler brings such potency to the role it leaves no doubt that Macbeth will buckle under her demands.
In casting young Anton Lipovetsky, newly graduated from Studio 58 and excellent in The Taming of the Shrew, Potter makes a weak choice for Malcolm, heir to Duncans throne. Lipovetsky is a young man with impressive appeal but does not yet have the necessary gravitas to bring the story to a positive, or at least, hopeful conclusion. Its possible that Potter means to suggest that Scotland will now be led by a sapling of a youth and, consequently, continuing unrest is inevitable. That would make this Macbeth a very different play.
