“It’s a brave director that tackles Macbeth” said an arts newspaper editor once to theatre critics bound for another performance of one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. So easy is it to get wrong that as a lover of the play, it’s generally a ‘holding your breath’ moment whenever you go and see a new version, especially if it’s called ‘an adaptation’. Within the first five minutes of this production we’ve exhaled, we’re relaxed, we’re gripped. And seized with the urge to drag every director who has ever directed a bad or mediocre version to the feet of this one simply to worship and gape in awe.

Sarah Slater, who also adapts, and Chloe Bond have together directed possibly the finest version of Macbeth to grace the stage, brought together simply by four actors playing all the parts. It’s an incredible feat of multi-rolling with great depth in character development for each of the roles played, by four actors at the top of their game who intone Shakespeare as if it’s everyday language, making this the most accessible Macbeth we are likely to see in a very long while.

‘This is my Theatre’ have a unique style which runs like a core through their work, involving for one a cappella vocal songs or sounds that form part of the play in scene changes or underscoring as well as a pre-show introduction. This pre show, with gorgeous musical arrangements by Simon Stallard, sets the scene beautifully, creating the medieval and gothic atmosphere through which the story emerges, like a carved ship out of mist. Another of their signatures is the apparent simplicity of the costumes and set: rustic, grounded and earthy. Yet when you look closely you can see the attention to detail in every single thing. We know the difference between characters being played simply by the addition of a bag, or a fur, or a cloak; before they even speak.

There are so many choices made in this which show a touch of genius. The witches have become random drinking buddies; serving to narrate the story at times where needed. Lily Smith as Lady Macbeth shows some brilliant foreshadowing when she looks at her hands in the beginning of the play, getting too involved in trying to wash them – something that lasts but a moment, but hints at her obsession with trying to wash them later on. The “dagger” speech by Ethan Taylor as Macbeth as the other three weave around him in pure choreography is stunning.

It’s rare that something can be done in a stylised way and acted with grounded sincerity and authenticity, yet this is what we see through the whole scene where Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo at the table. The use of masks in this scene by Simon Stallard and Matthew Tweddle in a slow and deliberate way adds to the eerie effect, and Macbeth losing his mind while Lady Macbeth tries to assuage him is a joy to watch. The fight between Simon Stallard as MacDuff and Ethan Taylor is superbly choreographed.

Part of the beauty of this production is the intimacy with the audience, as we all feel part of the action happening all around. They embody all the characters, from the worthy Duncan to the stalwart MacDuff, from Lady Macbeth going through the whole gamut of emotions trying to turn herself into something she clearly isn’t in order to help her husband’s ambitions, to Macbeth himself: complex and complicated, driven by his ambitions to tyranny and cruelty. There is a golden moment of just the subtlest of changes in facial expression by Ethan Taylor where you can actually see him decide to kill Banquo, long before he says it out loud; and the “tomorrow” speech is delivered with heart-breaking perfection.

This troupe have not only delivered to the highest quality standard but have succeeded in doing something remarkable: by telling it in such a grounded way, demystifying Shakespeare and showing us real people; they’ve made a story written over four hundred years ago relevant to today. We understand people thirsting for ambition, we understand how someone can be consumed by guilt, we understand how mental ill health can affect anyone and take its toll on the apparently strongest of people. Where even gifted directors fail at Macbeth, this is as near to a perfect version that you are ever likely to get.

St Peter’s Church, Preston Park, 7 March 2025
Photos credit: Ethan Taylor