“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
Derby Theatre

The darkest, spookiest and bloodiest of Shakespeare’s tragedy plays, and also the most exciting. It’s the story of the lust for power and greed and how this all comes at a deadly price for those who seek it.

Three witches envisage that Macbeth will be the King of Scotland, and once this prophecy has been received by Macbeth, he decides to make sure that this vision becomes a reality, and that means getting rid of a few people that stand in his way. Ambition and drive though can come with terrifying consequences, as Macbeth and his family soon discover.

Much as I love Shakespeare imaginatively done with a twist, it's also refreshing to see a play like "Macbeth" done in its' traditional form as it is done here. OK maybe some of the costumes may not have been completely true to the period, but the production itself was as true as you can get. That is why I loved this gory, but not over the top presentation.

The Set Design by Ruari Murchison was minimal, but what I really loved was the shadow play fight scenes, and when done in slow motion really created a spectacular effect. It showed the slayings, but not graphically, which was particularly effective when Macduff's wife and children were slain.

I also loved the fight scene between Macduff and Macbeth which actually looked dangerous and the clashing of the swords showed that these were not just wooden swords painted silver, they sounded like the real thing and looked heavy enough to do some damage should one of these actors slipped up. Bethan Clark is the Fight Director.

When a play is presented as well as this one is, there really is no need to shine a spotlight on any particular performance, but these leads are so well versed in their trade and delivered with the passion that is required in such a play,

Adam Karim (Banquo), Rikki Chamberlain (Angus/Porter), Martin Johnston (Duncan/Old Man/Doctor), Danielle Kassarate (Lady Macduff/Witch #2), Daniel Kendrick (Captain/Seyton), Colette McNulty (Young Soldier/Murderer #2/Witch #3/Donalbain), David Nellist (Ross/Murderer #1), Connie Walker (Gentlewoman/ Lennox/ Witch #1), Tilda Wickham (Malcolm).

Phoebe Sparrow was an excellent Lady Macbeth, Ewan Somers delivered a passionate Macduff and Paul Tinto was among one of the best Macbeths I have experienced.

There are three actors who play Fleance at Derby Theatre, Hadley Grange, James Grocock and Veer Seth.

Likewise there are also three actors who play Young Macduff. They are Conrad Chapman, Bobby Rolfe and Jack Scannell-Wood.

I didn't get to confirm which of these actors played the part on Wednesday night, but, the young actors I saw have great potential and also really good projection.Heard every word.

Directed by Douglas Rintoul, he kept the pace going and while not veering too far from the faithful, he managed to present the story with fresh splashes.And I must also mention that the blood actually looked like blood; the colour and, from where I sat looked to have the right consistency. It's the little things I notice! And I also do not think that I have seen this particular staging of the ending before.

The three witches really were quite scary and another thing I loved was how Banquo's body was made to disappear from the stage. Simple but very clever and effective in the move from that scene to the banquet scene.

Lighting Design by Daniella Beattie and Sound Design is by Paul Falconer, both bringing just the right menacing atmosphere when needed.

This production is a co-production with Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and follows the immensely successful collaborations on Abigail's Party, Abi and One Man, Two Guvnors from last year.

A brilliant production of probably the most famous tragedies written by Shakespeare, and possibly just one of the most famous tragedies ever written.Traditional enough to sate the die-hard fans with just enough fresh sprinkles to make a difference to the not so die-hards.

“Macbeth” is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 14 March.