Shakespeare meets the Blair witch - Macbeth. Pistachio Choice at the Drayton theatre

I jumped at the chance to review another production of Macbeth as a chance to refresh the play in my mind as we're starting rehearsals for Breakfast Cat's production this week. Here's the review I wrote for Remote Goat.

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I've seen Macbeth three times in the last year and this was certainly the most immersive. The audience sits on three sides of the space on a single row. This meant we were all on the front row which not only makes the ticket price an absolute bargain but means you feel very involved in the action as you're almost sitting on the stage. This effect was compounded by many scenes where actors appeared behind the audience benches on stage right and left, veiled by a black curtain which became semi transparent when the area beyond it was lit. This device was used very cleverly for the visions to appear to Macbeth when conjured by the witches.

I particularly liked the staging of the banquet scene where members of the court appear behind the curtain stage left accompanied by restaurant noises. Lines involving the court were delivered in the restaurant space, but when Macbeth was disturbed by Banquo's ghost he emerged out into the main space to be berated by his wife out of view of his guests, as if they had come out of the restaurant. This set the scene in a way the audience could relate to which was much more effective and contemporary then the usual theatrical asides taking place in the same room.

This production excelled at creating atmosphere. As we arrived the simple black stage was set with a figure covered in a white sheet lying on a large metal trolley. In the first scene the weird sisters emerged in darkness wearing white nightdresses and large glasses. They were lit only by torches which they shone on each others' faces. Many scenes through the play were lit in this way which gave a distinct feeling of unease and rising fear and panic, which reminded me of watching a creepy film like the Blair Witch project. When this first scene ended with the bloodied captain awaking with a scream I jumped in my seat.

The cast of 6 played the full contingency with full costume changes very well. Different characters were also given very distinct accents which helped distinguish them very clearly from each other and I didn't feel there was any confusion about what was going on. Because actors were constantly rushing on and off the stage as different characters the pace of the play was fast and high energy which added to the feeling of adrenaline created by the atmospheric staging. We felt a bit like we were at the London Bridge experience with characters emerging from ever direction.

The lighter comedy moments which would have broken this atmosphere were skated over somewhat. The Porter, played by Michael Loughton, was not played as comically as usual which I think was a good decision in the context of this production. Loughton also gave us a regal and likeable Duncan who I felt sorry to see dispatched and an excellent murderer

This was a real ensemble production and I felt all the actors really excelled in their roles. Tim Wyatt as Macbeth was particularly impressive though, his reactions and descent into madness were compelling.

Emily Woodward was also particularly good, giving very distinct performances. I loved her frantic and heart wrenching Lady Macduff, followed seconds later by a calm and measured Malcolm after a swift backstage costume swap. Her face as Malcolm when she was informed of her father's death really stuck with me.

I also really liked Charlotte Donachie who played the difficult 'I've come to give you some exposition' roles with aplomb and gave real character to Rosse without detracting from the main action.

Rebecca Powell was a rather less sympathetic Lady Macbeth than I have seen recently, a more traditional unmitigatingly hard and controlling spouse. I felt that her gestures and reactions were a little overplayed for a smaller theatre space where we were right in front of her, and this didn't quite go with Wyatt's performance which was more expertly reigned back. I actually enjoyed her performance more as the weird sister and as the young Fleance where her energetic style brought life to the characters. There was a very nice moment though, when Macbeth is 'crowned' at Scone, usually not depicted on stage. Rank and title were represented by pin badges on the lapel and we were shown Lady Macbeth emphatically forcing the badge onto Macbeth's lapel watched by Rosse. I thought this, and other little moments which were occasionally added were great, added to the pacey feel of the play and gave us some extra insight into the characters.

The one think which I thought let down this production was the costumes. There was a strange mixture of contemporary and more traditional dress which was confusing and made me feel like the director had not made clear decisions about where and when this was set. For example Malcolm made a nod to the military with a modern blue military style coat, while Macduff wore khaki green army uniform complete with beret. And while the Weird sisters looked suitably creepy in their nightdresses and glasses, this Psychoville look did not tally with Macbeth's simple suit. Overall it felt like the costumes had been picked for convenience in terms of costume changes rather than thought about as an important part of the visual theme which was a shame when the staging and lighting were so spot on.

We particularly disliked the beret which William Reay wore as Macduff which was an irritating distraction from his otherwise very moving and charismatic performance. His final fight with Macbeth was brilliantly choreographed and dramatic. It was a great decision to lose the knives and have them punching and kicking each other which as such close quarters was far more disturbing and realistic than a knife battle would have been.

If you like your Shakespeare gripping and atmospheric, keep an evening free to go and see this, you will not be disappointed.

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What I didn't say on Remote Goat because I thought it would be pretty irrelevant and because the review was already far too long and rambling was: Is it me or is Lady Macbeth getting younger? I have seen 3 Macbeths in the last year, not one of them had a Lady Mac over 30.

A couple of years ago at the British Shakespeare Association's Hamlet conference in Denmark, Trevor Nunn told us he thought Hamlet was not 30, as the gravedigger tells us but younger. Look at the text carefully, Nunn argued, and it's obvious that Hamlet is a young student, early 20s max. Some scholars, and many actors (who like to still have a chance of playing Hamlet well into their 50s) disagree. Which is a shame because I'm inclined to agree with Trevor Nunn on this one.

But I'm seeing the opposite effect with Lady Macbeth. She's getting younger and younger because younger actors want to have a go at it and are not inclined to wait until their 40s. When I auditioned for Breakfast Cat's Macbeth I thought I'd be too young to be considered for the plumb role. But as it turns out the excellent Helena Natrass who has landed the role is the youngest Lady Mac yet, barely old enough to drink in the pub we rehearse in. Twenty six would be considered a pretty old Lady Mac these days. How depressing.

Now, many of these Lady Macbeths are excellent. But their youth means the underlying tensions in the relationship between Shakespeare's most ambitious power couple are skated over. Lady Macbeth has lost a child in the past "I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me", and Macbeth's main preoccupation for most of the play, once he becomes king, is with lineage. The weird sisters as quite clear that Banquo's progeny will inherit the throne. No children for Macbeth. This is what drives him to murder his friend. With this aspect of the play played down, the productions necessarily put more emphasis on the act of murdering Duncan corrupting Macbeth's soul and piece of mind and sending him mad, driving him to further murders.

Unfortunately this theme of Macbeth's "eternal jewel" being warped beyond repair by the act of murder is actually much more feasible to Shakespeare's devout Elizabethan audience. Today's secular audience have seen too many serial killers and psychopaths on the news and in films who murder and manage to present a perfectly normal facade to the rest of the world to entirely buy into this idea. Meanwhile, the childless couple driven by grief to mad and violent acts crop up on Eastenders every other Christmas.

I'm not saying Duncan's murder should be played down as a catalyst to Macbeth's unravelling. There are still examples of modern audiences being affected by damage to a character's soul. Andy pointed out to me when we were discussing it at the theatre that Macbeth is comparable to J.K. Rowling's Voldemort splitting his soul to create Horcruxes. And we certainly still squirm at Dorian Grey so we still understand the concept of someone who has done evil things being tainted. I just feel that this as a single or main explanation lacks the depth you get from a combination of a character's worldly worries for the future of his lineage, his human instincts to love and protect a family plus the supernatural concerns that he has done something abhorrent to his immortal soul.

Because of this there are two Macbeth productions I'd like someone to produce next. The first is a contemporary production with an older couple which puts the question of childlessness and succession back centre stage.

The other version I'd REALLY like to see is one of these younger Lady Macs who is visibly pregnant. Imagine the highly charged paranoia of the play, with this added dimension. How gruesome to hear Lady Macbeth talk about dashing a baby's brains out when she is pregnant. It would be like that feeling of disgust and despair you get when you see a pregnant woman smoking on the street, only more so. How much more terrifying for Macbeth to hear that he is to have "a fruitless crown" when he is expecting his first baby, after his last baby died. That's the kind of stuff that sends characters mad in this day and age. More gruesome, more modern, more innovative. Someone do that please. And let me know if you do so I can come and see it.

How I learned to love performance art

There are those of you who will think I am raving but I just wanted to admit to you all that actually, I love performance art/ conceptual performance/ surreal theatre or whatever you want to call it.

Now OK I don't think I'm ever going to want to go and see Franco B bleeding all over the floor or Carolee Schneemann pulling scrolls out of her lady garden. But I love going to scratch events like Show Us Yer Bits (curated by GetInTheBackOfTheVan) which I went to last week because my friends Sedated by a Brick were performing a first peek at some of their new work.

Sedated By A Brick presented some really poetic work which reminded me a bit of doing Burglers at school (remember that? "What have the vandals done with my sandals?") They need to do some work to combine their new work with language with the impressive physical work they have done before but I think they will work this out and create something strong and affecting if not particularly comprehensible.

Next up was Sarah Bell who presented a really cute piece about her revisiting a film about the moon landings which she loved as a child when she wanted to be an astronaut. I thought this was very affective because it made me feel awe and wonder about men landing on the moon which I don't really feel normally. It also had loads of room for her to explore further the ideas about forgotten childhood dreams, nostalgia and media.

Lastly we saw a very funny piece by tatty-del exploring their competitive/bitchy relationship with each other. I thought this was an honest piece which I found very authentic. Some of the scenarios they played out I recognised from my own relationships with my family and female friends which made me think about myself and how I interact with people.

So an enjoyable evening all round. If you're still sceptical about going to see any theatre that doesn't have a playwright's name on the poster, here are a few reasons to give an alternative type of theatre a try.

1) If you enjoy surreal comedy like the Boosh or Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy there is no reason to assume you won't enjoy a similarly weird experience in a theatre.

2) I've had a depressingly large number of people in work and on dates ask me what my star sign is recently. Obviously people who 'believe' in star signs either are really stupid, want you to think they are really stupid, or have cunningly turned their brains off in order to avoid dealing with large difficult questions and help them to reduce the world to small manageable chunks. This is a talent I find both dangerous and enviable. If, like me, you occasionally find yourself so choked with the surrounding stupidity it is hard to breathe, I guarantee you will find some challenging theatre created by people who are really doing something with their brains very refreshing.

3) People who make this kind of theatre are lovely people who want to know what you think. You might expect them to be arrogant, annoying, North-London-Hipster type people and ok some of them are. But the majority in my experience are crafting their work to communicate with the audience member in the most effective way possible. They are far more open to suggestions and constructive criticism that any other type of artist, playwright or musician that I have ever met.

4) Don't knock it until you've tried it. I took my friend Faye to see DV8 a few years ago, nervous that she would hate it and think I was mental. She turned to me when the lights went up and said 'That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.' Now we regularly go and check out contemporary physical theatre/dance productions at Sadlers Wells and elsewhere and have had many more amazing evenings.

5) Nothing will ever make you sound more impressive at dinner parties than up-to-date knowledge of cutting-edge theatre.

I'm not saying you will like everything you see. Some of it is pretentious twaddle which will leave you cold. But I could also say that of many Shakespeare adaptations.

Thanks to Rob for coming with me to Show Us Yer Bits. I think he enjoyed it.