Review: Macbeth – ‘the Scottish play’ moved to ancient China

Following his critically-acclaimed Cantonese adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus in 2012, veteran stage director Tang Shu-wing returns with Macbeth, also for the Hong Kong Arts Festival but this time in collaboration with Shakespeare’s Globe in Britain.

In many ways this is a far greater challenge not least because, unlike Titus Andronicus, “the Scottish play” is a more familiar work, and is staged more frequently by theatre companies around the world. Comparisons are, therefore, inevitable.

But Tang is a gifted artist and you can always count on him to come up with something different in his productions. Constantly experimenting, he has done works that strip the stage bare so the audience can concentrate on the words and action. Anticipation for his take on Macbeth was high, especially after he presented the work at the Globe in London last August.

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Though the synopsis suggests a departure from the original work: “A modern couple dreams that they enter the universe of Macbeth in the buried past of ancient China”. Most of the cast wear Chinese operatic gowns while Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are in modern day attire. This production is, at its core, a faithful adaptation. All the character names remain the same.

The play opens with the encounter between the three witches (played by male actors Wong Siu-fai, Cheng Ka-chun and Lau Chun-him) and Macbeth (Ng Wai-shek) and his comrade-in-arms Banquo (Lo Chun-ho). Here, the two men’s future is revealed in a prophecy, and the seed is sown for the tragedy and murders that follow.

Under Tang’s direction, Ng’s Macbeth is more hesitant than ambitious. The actor’s interpretation of his role is more sympathetic. It is not until the final act we finally see a man brimming with conviction and aggression.

Rosa Maria Velasco is a talented actress and I’ve seen her shine in a number of stage productions. Unfortunately this isn’t one of them and it has more to do with miscasting. Her Lady Macbeth lacks depth and dimension. Where is the ambitious, scheming, ruthless, venomous murderess that makes her character so deliciously evil?

Perhaps the young actress is still too inexperienced to handle a meaty role that calls for a deeper understanding of the character’s psychological complexity. When Lady Macbeth finally loses her mind, Velasco performance is, nonetheless, touching (which makes me think she’d probably make a far better Ophelia in Hamlet than Lady Macbeth).