It’s the original Tartan Noir tale but don’t expect any tartan in Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s new retelling of Macbeth.
It is often referred to as The Scottish Play because some thespians believe it is unlucky to utter the title in the theatre. But director Nick Skubij of Shake & Stir Theatre Co says they won’t be leaning into the Scottishness.
“There’s no tartan,” he confirms. “I don’t think we need to go there. Although I might wear tartan.” Why not?
“We’re trying to update it,” he says.
So, in celebration of Shake & Stir’s 20th anniversary, the acclaimed production house will tackle Shakespeare’s most gripping tragedy in the company’s first mainstage adaptation of the Bard’s work, coming to the Playhouse at QPAC in June.
For the Brisbane-based company that started out in 2006 as three actor friends united by a love of adapting and performing Shakespeare, this upcoming season of Macbeth fans the flames of that passion.
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Shake & Stir’s artistic directors will helm the production. Directed by Nick Skubij and adapted by Nelle Lee, with Ross Balbuziente as creative producer (they are the trio behind the company), audiences can expect another literary adaptation that is inventive and fearless in its staging. It follows the trio’s successful adaptations of Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, 1984 and Jane Eyre.
Nelle Lee will also play Lady Macbeth with Jeremiah Wray as Macbeth.
To recap, Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy about a Scottish general, encouraged by his ambitious wife and a witch’s prophecy, who murders King Duncan to seize the throne. Consumed by guilt and paranoia, Macbeth commits more murders to secure his power, becoming a hated tyrant. His reign ends when he is defeated and killed by forces led by Macduff and Malcolm.
‘We see some of the elements of this story in dictatorships all around the world right now’
It is Shakespeare’s shortest play and as Skubij points out, one with great clarity around the story. That has endeared it to generations of audiences who love it and would be mortified if anyone messed with it too much.
Skubij promises that they will be faithful to the text. (This outfit has a lot of reliability when it comes to adaptation.)
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“It’s such an approachable play and so clear,” Skubij says. “We see some of the elements of this story in dictatorships all around the world right now.”
Instead of kilts, the cast will be in suits and other modern attire.
He promises to deliver “a really good thriller live on stage”. It will be intriguing to see what they do with the play, which has been interpreted on stage and screen so often.
The cinematic benchmark is probably still Roman Polanski’s 1971 film but there have been many other versions including Macbeth (2015) directed by Justin Kurzel. This version stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Known for its brutal, visceral and gritty approach, it was filmed on location in Scotland and emphasizes the psychological trauma of the characters.
More recently there was The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), written and directed by Joel Coen. This version is a highly stylized, black-and-white film. Starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in critically praised performances, it focusses on a “bare-bones”, stage-like production style that draws heavily on German Expressionism.
‘We’re bringing Macbeth screaming into the 21st century with large-scale theatricality’
“It’s such a daunting task to take on something so well known,” Skubij admits. “We have done Macbeth many times in our schools’ programs, but this is the first main stage version. I hope people see something that is contemporary; a refreshed take on it.
“We’re bringing Macbeth screaming into the 21st century with large-scale theatricality, fusing cutting-edge production with muscular storytelling to deliver a night of gripping theatre on an epic scale. Through the amplification, re-framing and live broadcasting of Shakespeare’s classic, we will interrogate how misinformation, fear and persuasion drive contemporary power and reveal what happens when the story becomes more powerful than reality.”
It will be more psychological than supernatural too, thinking of the witches. Skubij describes them as “sinister and unsettling” but doesn’t give too much away. He does say he wants to the audience to be “fearful”, though. I’m sure that is possible. I remember being absolutely terrified on opening night of their Dracula.
It’s fun being scared, right? It sounds like this version of Macbeth might be a perfect fright night. This is where the genre of tartan noir was born centuries before its more recent incarnations.
Dae ye ken?” Aye, I think you do.
Macbeth plays the Playhouse Theatre, QPAC, June 6 to 21.
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