MACBETH

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,"

This was avant-garde work in progress, and should be judged accordingly. The Polish Song of the Goat Theatre performed in English, using often acrobatic, stylised movement and dance effectively, with some dazzling flag work. They spoke against a near-continuous background of highly atmospheric intonation - which made Shakespeare's words sometimes impossible to hear. This combination worked very well in the haunting of Lady Macbeth, and in the delivery of the "She should have died hereafter" soliloquy by Macbeth. But the gymnastic tumbling by Malcolm, Macduff and Ross when the latter brings the news that Macduff's wife and children are dead, while impressive physically, is nothing but a distraction from the terrible message,
"What, all my pretty chickens and their dam,
At one fell swoop?"
It will be interesting to see whether the passage survives in that form. It shouldn't.

Personal Star Rating [out of five]**