This was always going to be an interesting one for me. Over twenty years ago, as a young student at RADA, I had the great luck to play Lady Macbeth while Sarah Woodward was one of the witches. Now I am watching Sarah work her magic on the role.
      The set for Edward Kemp's production consists of rusty metal containers arranged around the edges of the stage at various angles, which certainly lend an air of gloom to the normally pretty open-air setting. Duncan's entrance is accompanied by blasts of shotgun-fire, explosions, and jets flying overhead. But I wasn't sure what period we were meant to be in. The modern war-time sounds were belied by the costumes, which seemed to range from Napoleonic to Edwardian. I have remarked on this before but I do not understand why directors always feel the need to update Shakespeare when they don't seem to have a very good reason for it. Of course, the war analogy is relevant, but it felt as though it had been latched on for effect and was not an integral part of the play.
      Antony Byrne's Macbeth begins well, but his sudden jump to seering ambition doesn't ring quite true perhaps the fault of the play as much as anything (it is known both that some speeches are missing and that other writers had a hand in it), but I didn't feel Byrne quite had the weight of the man. But he had his moments.
      Sarah Woodward's entrance as Lady Macbeth was dramatic and compelling and when Macbeth returns to her their chemistry was palpable. I have seen many productions of Macbeth where I have wondered how such a man would be swayed by such a wife to commit such crimes but here I could understand it. Woodward is a great comedian, but it's nice to see her doing a dramatic role for a change. And what an evil woman Mrs Macbeth really is!
      Mark Meadows' Banquo was eloquent and the ghost scene one of the highpoints of the evening. Here we get the clearest glimpse of what Macbeth should be. As he throws himself on the table, chasing the elusive ghost, his agony was real, the horror of his guests and the exasperation of his wife genuine.
      After the interval, as the light began to fade, I found the production picked up. Macbeth became stronger and I was pleasantly surprised by Thomas Padden's Malcolm he was quite wonderful in his speech to Macduff as he tests his loyalties. It is a role that often fades from memory but Padden proved the adage that there are no small parts.
      The witches, who I occasionally felt were struggling with the elements, and were not as mysterious as they should be, had fun cauldrons made from burning oil-drums in which the fires cleverly lasted exactly the length of the scene a nice touch, even if it left me wondering how they did it and how much depended on the weather.
      It's good to see a slightly more human side to Lady Macbeth in the famous sleepwalking scene it would be nice to have more of her, especially Woodward's incarnation. After the murder of Duncan and Banquo, Shakespeare seems to have forgotten about her a little and her death seems hardly even to bother Macbeth. Again we feel something is missing, their relationship is not properly explored. At what point did that passion evaporate?
      Peter Duncan is good as Macduff, howling in pain when he hears of his family's murder and killing Macbeth with rightful vengeance. And as Malcolm winds up the play, you do feel that evil has been vanquished, for the moment at least.
      All of this adds up to a decent production. The verse is well-spoken, the intentions are clear, there are moments of brilliance. Unfortunately there is a little magic lacking though. But the magic is provided by the theatre itself. On a lovely summer's evening Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, now celebrating its 75th anniversary year, is always a great place to be.
Francine Brody