Macbeth at West Yorkshire Playhouse

The real question is how many times can this play be reimagined and what level of effectiveness can we expect from this age old classic, writes Dave Kelly?

Well its sombre begging was captivating and, as the story gets into its groove, it can be easy to get lost in the fable of toxic manipulation and tragedy if it wasn’t so disjointed and abrupt at points. Don’t get me wrong, for a story to be retold for next generations it must definitley be revamped

The use of Northern actors in a sort of clannish nod, to what I felt was very game of thrones esque delivery, was fairly competent and would definitely hold the attention of the younger audience in attendance.

Great diversions from what could become boorish and a little bit lame on its telling on the whole, this was a genuine attempt and good interpretation of a classic.

Simple but effective stage décor from Hayley Grindle demonstrated that with a minimalist set you can really focus on the text and get lost in the characters performance, which for me at 43 years old was still hard to get my head around and left me damming the Bard for using ten words that could have been said in three.

Language aside, an all inclusive cast, which included a deaf Mc Duff, helped me as his lines were often repeated helping me to grasp some of the text that I struggled with myself as a 15 year old back in the day.

It was hard to not notice that Lady Macbeth seemed to emanate some missapropriated maternal grieve which reeked of a grieveing mothers rage driving on her husbands rage for a title shot at death guts and glory, which I thought was an interesting angle as a woman scorned.

A good if not 100 per cent faithfull attempt at what will surely become another box ticker for the youth studying this tale and, maybe in another 15 years, I will be able to get my head around it properly.