Review: MACBETH at Southwest Shakespeare Company

Near the end of Act I of Shakespeare’s Scottish Play, Macbeth contemplates the price that may be paid for his unchecked ambition and lust for power: “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other’.”

In clearing the path for his ascendance, Macbeth also paves the way for his downfall. Conspiring with his wife, he violates the boundaries of morality and, in due course, both consume themselves with madness and guilt.

For those unfamiliar with the play’s plot line, a recap is in order. Three “weird sisters” (Megan Scott, Sarah Houghtelin, Gwynneth Doebbeling) proclaim that Macbeth (Mace Archer) will be King of Scotland and that the descendants of Banquo (Sam McInerney) will also reign. Spurred by the witches’ promise, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (Cynnita Agent) assassinate King Duncan (Jim Coates). Duncan’s sons flee, only to return another day and avenge their father’s death. Macbeth, fearing that Banquo’s descendants will preempt him, has Banquo killed. When Macduff (Aaron Blanco), one of the dead king’s loyalists joins Duncan’s older son, Malcolm (Prithvi Kahlon), Macbeth has Macduff’s wife and children murdered. Malcolm and Macduff lead an army against Macbeth. Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Macduff kills Macbeth. Malcolm becomes Scotland’s king.

This is the stuff of great drama, thick with psychological import, mad acts of violence, and the fog of war.

So it is that one approaches a revival of MACBETH with hope that the production will mine its possibilities and reveal some heretofore unexamined aspect of the characters’ motives and intentions. Notwithstanding a fair effort by director Brent Gibbs to embellish the production with sound, lights, and fury, the play (Southwest Shakespeare Company’s Season opener) falls short of meeting that expectation.

The directorial challenge in this work is to maintain a balance in the pacing of the play and its multiple rapid-fire scene-shifts that allows the actors time to give nuance to their roles. The effectiveness of the play lies in the ability of its two principle characters, Macbeth and his Lady, to evolve their characters, to modulate, to shade their lines, and to employ subtle grimaces or gestures as measures of their emotions. However, the pacing in this production is rushed with little opportunity for the actors to convincingly convey the subtle transformations of their moods and motives or to embrace Shakespeare's lines with the carefully calibrated rhythms and force they deserve.

If Mace Archer’s portrayal of Macbeth is to capture the Thane’s despair and despotic nature, it’s best that it contrasts markedly with that of what he describes as Duncan’s grace as a leader ~ “his faculties so meek…so clear in his great office that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking-off.”

Jim Coates excels in imbuing the role of Duncan with a natural and splendid sense of a royal worthy of the love and admiration of his people. He is gracious, gregarious, and kind.

Macbeth, Duncan’s polar opposite, must therefore reflect a distraught, less divine and more devilish countenance. In this regard, while Archer delivers a virile and surefooted performance as the honored warrior torn between fealty to his king and the lure of power foreseen by the weird sisters, his trajectory to a power-hungry, guilt-ridden, and paranoid murderer emerges too suddenly. He speaks the lines that tell of Macbeth’s struggle with ambition and morality, but the raw emotion that should reflect his anguish over Duncan’s murder (If it were done when ’tis done) or the announcement of Lady Macbeth’s suicide (Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow) gets lost in the ether. The sheer poetry and rhythm of that last speech, endowed with the symbolism and imagery of “a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more,” requires the latitude of time for Macbeth’s internal churn and anguish to be palpable. But the moment swings sharply into the next scene.

Cynnita Agent’s range and versatility as an actress has become a matter of theatre fact in Phoenix regional theatre. Following standout performances in Single Black Female, Antony and Cleopatra, and Ramona King’s Steal Away, Agent once again demonstrates her acumen in a solid and sensitive portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s strength and vulnerability. Here too, the directorial challenge rears its head. In the swirl of the play’s activity, Lady Macbeth’s transition from supportive wife to ruthless conspirator, her character's complexity, motives, and psychological struggle go unexplored. Her descent into madness comes too quick and too matter-of-fact, such that, in the moment that presages Lady Macbeth’s suicide (Out, damned spot, I say!), Agent is just shy of capturing the character’s inner torment and setting the stage for her downfall.

Director Gibbs has done well in bringing a cast of supporting characters to the show, each of whom, outfitted in the garb of the time, wield their swords and loyalties with appropriate flourish. Aaron Blanco, in particular, delivers an impressive turn as Macduff, accentuating the moral opposition to Macbeth's tyranny. His tormented howl upon learning of the murder of his family echoes still in the rafters. Likewise, Sam McInerney’s Banquo shines as the ghost come to haunt Macbeth and fire up his disturbed mind.

The Witches sequences add just the right flavor of supernatural eeriness to the show. Circulating around the stage and howling like banshees, the trio exudes an eerie mystique that adds to the overall sense of foreboding.

Blind and reckless ambition are all too present in the halls of power these days, their sound and fury signifying paralysis and revenge politics. The production of MACBETH is a timely and worthwhile opportunity not only to refamiliarize and reengage with the tragedy but also to reflect on the implications of unchecked power and the casualties in its wake.

MACBETH runs through October 28th in Mesa Arts Center’s Nesbitt/Elliott Playhouse.

Southwest Shakespeare Company ~ https://www.swshakespeare.org/ ~ 480-435-6868

Venue: Mesa Arts Center - Nesbitt/Elliott Playhouse ~ www.MesaArtsCenter.com ~ 480-644-6500 ~ 1 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ

Photo credit to Peter Bish

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