CityLife

Macbeth

IT'S a measure of the enormous admiration and affection Manchester’s smarter theatre-goers feel for Feelgood Theatre productions that not even torrential rain on Friday night could dissuade more than a hundred hardy souls from joining them in Heaton Park for an open-air promenade performance of Macbeth.

They were rewarded with an adventurous and entertaining show, one which might even have been enriched by the inclement elements in fact, given its emphasis on earthiness and the rhythm of the outdoors.

The production, celebrating the company’s 15th anniversary, fulfils a long-standing ambition of the company’s tireless artistic director Caroline Clegg to work again with theatrical talent from Zimbabwe after creating and performing their Romeo & Juliet-Thando & Ruhvengo in Zimbabwe for the Commonwealth Games cultural programme in 2002.

Obviously the political situation in that luckless land has changed considerably since then, so this production is a collaboration with Theatre Under Fire, a Leeds-based company established by Zimbabwean exiles who fled there after finding themselves “under fire” in their native land.

Perilous pursuit

So the Feelgood Macbeth heavily features the rhythm of the African drumbeat, acapella singing, and dancing (the latter proving something of a perilous pursuit given the muddy terrain!).

It’s an intriguingly novel approach and one that really does work with this particular play.

The appearances of the witches, sometimes a bit of a problem for sophisticated modern audiences, also make much more sense in the context of the wild setting.

There were one or two scenes which had to be amended – I would have liked to have seen Duncan’s body burning on the boat, for instance, as was thwarted by the elements – but this is a splendidly full-blooded production and one that’s well worth your time – come rain or shine!

Macbeth from Feelgood Theatre Productions is in Heaton Park until Sunday, August 2 (no performances July 19, 20 and 27).

Rain does not stop play and this is a promenade production, which involves walking approximately ½ mile as you journey from scene to scene. You are advised to dress suitably, wear comfortable shoes and bring something portable to sit on, eg: a rug or folding chair. Insect repellent and a torch might come in handy too!

There are Weekend Family Workshops at which you can learn to act, write a sonnet or stage fight on July 25 and 26 as well as on August 1. For more information or to book call 0870 428 0785.

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