Matthew's Journal

Yesterday we saw the RSC production of Macbeth in Stratford (the only evening with pairs of tickets left, otherwise we'd have left it a bit longer after Lear). It was good, but not great. The wyrd sisters are re-jigged to be more avenging angels, and that was done well, even if I'm not entirely convinced by it as an interpretation. Likewise the acts of sexual violence done to Macbeth and to Lady Macduff mirrored each other somewhat, but felt a little gratuitous.

They dealt well with the closing scenes, though, which can sometimes end up being a bit "people run on, give 2 lines, run off again". Macbeth carried off the title role sympathetically, and the destruction at the dinner scene was a good way to bring in the interval.

Not a definitive performance for me, then, but a good one.

[1]Sorry for the in-joke

This evening we went to see King Lear in Stratford. We ate at the Opposition beforehand (having seen it recommended by sigisgrim), who were good, and fitted us in despite our tardy arrival.

It was the best Lear I've seen, by some way. We had good seats, which helped, but still. It was immediate and powerful, the staging was minimal but well-used, the violence shocking, and the tragedy moving. There were several very strong performances - Gloucester and his sons and the fool stood out, as did Lear himself. I'm not sure they had a coherent idea of Lear's motivations early in the play, though. He became more sympathetic as he declined into madness. An excellent evening.

Despite "interesting" driving conditions, I made it to and from Stratford safely, where I saw Richard III in Arabic.

( so, was it worth it? )