Category Archives: Reviews

MACBETH

★★★★

Bread and Roses Theatre

MACBETH

Bread and Roses Theatre

★★★★

“The atmosphere is not built with materials, but with sound, silence, and breath”

On a stark, shadow-drenched stage, Macbeth breathes again – visceral, raw, and chillingly relevant. This stripped-back production brings Shakespeare’s tragedy into the present with terrifying clarity, proving that ambition, guilt, and power never go out of fashion. There are no elaborate sets, no grandiose costumes, only two actors, their voices, their presence, and the weight of one of the most haunting plays ever written.

Ant Henson and Martha Ibbotson deliver performances of remarkable intensity and intelligence. Together, they inhabit a multitude of roles with seamless dexterity, shifting personas with only the subtlest changes in posture, tone, and gaze. Their chemistry on stage is magnetic, and their understanding of the text runs deep. At times, it feels like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not just being portrayed, but lived. Shakespeare would no doubt recognise his words in their mouths, and perhaps even nod in approval at the fearless urgency with which they resurrect his work.

This is theatre reduced to its purest form. With no props or scenery to rely on, the setting is conveyed entirely through the text. The actors’ words become the landscape: we see the misty highlands of Scotland, the candlelit corridors of Dunsinane, and the eerie, wind-swept heath where the witches deliver their fateful prophecies, all summoned through Shakespeare’s language and the evocative delivery of the performers. The atmosphere is not built with materials, but with sound, silence, and breath.

Produced by Most Rare Vision, this minimalist masterpiece is supported by the precise and evocative work of Shelton Wong on sound and lighting. The lights do not simply illuminate, they sculpt the space, casting long shadows and sudden bursts of intensity that mirror the psychological descent of the characters.

A nod also goes to associate producer Emma Louise-Price for her contribution behind the scenes, helping bring the vision to the stage with care and clarity.

This Macbeth is not a comfortable experience, and it shouldn’t be. It’s a visceral, lean, and emotionally charged retelling that strips the story to its bloody core. The result is a chillingly modern portrait of human ambition and ruin. It doesn’t just retell Shakespeare’s tale; it reclaims it for today.

 

Bread and Roses Theatre

Reviewed on 27th May 2025

by Beatrice Morandi

Photography by Barbara Szente

 

 


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SOBRIETY ON THE ROCKS | ★★★★ | July 2022

 

MACBETH

MACBETH

MACBETH

AFTER THE ACT

★★

Royal Court

AFTER THE ACT

Royal Court

★★

“it remains an interesting and worthwhile history lesson”

Jenny lives with Eric and Martin was just another children’s book in 1988. It wasn’t new and wasn’t even originally British, as it had first been published in Copenhagen in 1982. So how did this book become the starting point of a campaign, which ultimately led to the inclusion of Section 28 within the Local Government Act of 1988? After the Act is an entertaining musical, which tells the story of Section 28 through the eyes of those most closely affected.

‘Section 28’ refers to a specific clause with the Local Government Act of 1988, which prohibited schools from ‘promoting’ homosexuality, the wording of which was ambiguous enough that it resulted in the restriction of teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality, particularly concerning family relationships.

It is a strange era to look back on. Views that would be considered to be politically extreme nowadays were front and centre and were actually winning the argument. An imaginary enemy had been conjured up, largely driven by ignorance and misunderstanding. After the Act explores this period of recent history from multiple vital perspectives: teachers who could not speak up for risk of jeopardising their careers, students for whom bullying and discrimination had become a part of their everyday existence and the activists who fought hard to educate people and bring about real change.

The play splits fairly evenly into two halves. In the first act, we see the build-up to the passing of the Act in 1988. The tone is set clearly early in the play. People’s concerns about gay people are not challenged, whereas protestors are dismissed as mad rabble-rousers. Two scenes stand out in the first act. The first is where protestors have made it on the news at 6 on the BBC but are being silenced (fitting for the time) to not disrupt the broadcast. The second is the re-enactment of protestors abseiling into the House of Lords following the passing of the bill. These scenes are excellently written (Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens) paying tribute to the real-life activists involved.

The second act covers the aftermath to the passing of the Act before it was eventually repealed in 2003, detailing the experiences of people who had to live through this time period and how it affected them well beyond the law had been changed. This should be the point where it all comes together. However, the biggest issue is the contradiction between its comedic elements and the hard-hitting truths that it wishes to divulge. The tone of most of the first act is strangely uplifting and funny, which is maintained through to the start of the second act, when one of the performers enters the stage dressed as Margaret Thatcher and sings as the former Prime Minister.

The individual elements of the play are interesting and well-performed, and all of the cast display an impressive range as they move from character to character bringing to life more people’s stories from this period. However, these parts often work against each other without a clear link to the central narrative, rather appearing more like a slide show of different characters.

Keyboard and drums add a lively accompaniment to the performances on stage. Sadly, the backing music and use of songs is often overdone and is too much of an ‘ever-present’ during the show rather peaking for significant moments, which does make it a little tiring, giving the show an impression of ‘more bark than bite’. Overall, despite its flaws as a production, it remains an interesting and worthwhile history lesson, which deserves to be taught.



AFTER THE ACT

Royal Court

Reviewed on 27th May 2025

by Luke Goscomb

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 


 

 

 

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

MANHUNT | ★★★★ | April 2025
A GOOD HOUSE | ★★★★ | January 2025
THE BOUNDS | ★★★ | June 2024
LIE LOW | ★★★★ | May 2024
BLUETS | ★★★ | May 2024
GUNTER | ★★★★ | April 2024
COWBOIS | ★★★★★ | January 2024
MATES IN CHELSEA | ★★★ | November 2023
CUCKOO | ★★½ | July 2023
BLACK SUPERHERO | ★★★★ | March 2023

 

 

AFTER THE ACT

AFTER THE ACT

AFTER THE ACT