The only reason I give this disappointing update of Shakespeare's fine (though historically, offensively inaccurate!) play Macbeth as many as 4 stars is because of the excellent acting.
I used to admire this play until I learned that it's based on a pack of lies about the real history of the time that was rewritten later to suit the current ruling family. The name Stewart simply means Steward and the Stewarts were not ancestrally heirs of the Scottish throne - much the same tricky situation as faced the Tudors hence the damnation of Richard III who was no better nor worse than his brother and his Tudor successors. Scotland, or at least the part that concerned Duncan and Macbeth in Macbeth's time was ruled by the chosen representative of the chieftains although a fairly unruly situation when there was dissension. Macbeth was chosen but Duncan, an unpopular chief, seized the Kingship. No wonder he got removed though not as in Shakespeare's play. Macbeth was supposed to be the just king and a good king whilst Malcolm was a hostage in England for quite a long time where he was indoctrinated with the English custom of primogeniture which he took back with him to Scotland, convinced he was the rightful king and the old system of election was invalid. No wonder the English let him go home - a useful "English" puppet on the Scottish throne. As I recall, Malcolm was a strong but very harsh king and not too popular.
So it's hard for me to watch this play without remembering the injustice to Macbeth who didn't murder Duncan so far as I recall. Even harder to watch this over-melodramatic and unrealistic adaptation in which Duncan actually tells his ambitious chef that if he Duncan dies tomorrow, Macbeth will inherit the business instead of Duncan's son "who isn't ready yet to inherit". Completely daft!
So Mrs Macbeth promptly decides her husband must murder Duncan right away, and worse, not some clever scheme to avoid being implicated but "you're a chef, a knife man, murder him with a knife". Which Macbeth does.
I was never too impressed as Macbeth and his wife descend into madness even in the original play and especially as Macbeth was as I had learned the rightful king anyway. However, it does make some sense as they are all so superstitious and prophesies start coming true to scare them. But in a modern Scottish restaurant setting, it's really hard to believe how Joe Macbeth loses all control over himself, acts weird, alienates staff and customers and is well on the way to bankrupting the business. He has Banquo murdered by one of the illegal immigrants his wife had tried to pin the murder on and then is himself murdered by MacDuff - another daft theme as now Macduff will end up in jail for murder whilst in the original play MacDuff is within his rights in the period setting as a supporter of Malcolm to pursue Macbeth.
Mrs M goes off her head much more realistically and really rather deserved to chuck herself off a building given what a mess she'd made of their lives with her loopy scheme.
Watchable for the good acting and the restaurant milieu and if you don't mind it being a travesty of history. Watchable if you like a melodrama and don't mind that it isn't realistic, or assume the modern couple had an uncertain grasp on reality anyway. But don't expect the later part to make any sense if you prefer plays to be in the real world, just ride with the melodrama if you can and admire the actors.
Had Shakespeare written this play now, set in our time, he wouldn't have written what the BBC issued because it doesn't make modern sense. A shame the modern writer couldn't take that thought on board rather than going overboard with unrealistic melodrama. The melodrama could have worked if the basic setting had worked. With the restaurant setting something more devious was needed. In a different setting and with far more at stake for the Macbeths than hurt pride, the two murders might have made sense. You could say "murders have been done for less" but are we to suppose Shakespeare's Macbeth and his wife are idiots? Of course they aren't. And a great deal was at stake in a historical period in which murder by one prince of another for power or revenge wasn't unusual. In this modern retake, clearly they are idiots.
The three witches are amusingly played as refuse men.
I used to admire this play until I learned that it's based on a pack of lies about the real history of the time that was rewritten later to suit the current ruling family. The name Stewart simply means Steward and the Stewarts were not ancestrally heirs of the Scottish throne - much the same tricky situation as faced the Tudors hence the damnation of Richard III who was no better nor worse than his brother and his Tudor successors. Scotland, or at least the part that concerned Duncan and Macbeth in Macbeth's time was ruled by the chosen representative of the chieftains although a fairly unruly situation when there was dissension. Macbeth was chosen but Duncan, an unpopular chief, seized the Kingship. No wonder he got removed though not as in Shakespeare's play. Macbeth was supposed to be the just king and a good king whilst Malcolm was a hostage in England for quite a long time where he was indoctrinated with the English custom of primogeniture which he took back with him to Scotland, convinced he was the rightful king and the old system of election was invalid. No wonder the English let him go home - a useful "English" puppet on the Scottish throne. As I recall, Malcolm was a strong but very harsh king and not too popular.
So it's hard for me to watch this play without remembering the injustice to Macbeth who didn't murder Duncan so far as I recall. Even harder to watch this over-melodramatic and unrealistic adaptation in which Duncan actually tells his ambitious chef that if he Duncan dies tomorrow, Macbeth will inherit the business instead of Duncan's son "who isn't ready yet to inherit". Completely daft!
So Mrs Macbeth promptly decides her husband must murder Duncan right away, and worse, not some clever scheme to avoid being implicated but "you're a chef, a knife man, murder him with a knife". Which Macbeth does.
I was never too impressed as Macbeth and his wife descend into madness even in the original play and especially as Macbeth was as I had learned the rightful king anyway. However, it does make some sense as they are all so superstitious and prophesies start coming true to scare them. But in a modern Scottish restaurant setting, it's really hard to believe how Joe Macbeth loses all control over himself, acts weird, alienates staff and customers and is well on the way to bankrupting the business. He has Banquo murdered by one of the illegal immigrants his wife had tried to pin the murder on and then is himself murdered by MacDuff - another daft theme as now Macduff will end up in jail for murder whilst in the original play MacDuff is within his rights in the period setting as a supporter of Malcolm to pursue Macbeth.
Mrs M goes off her head much more realistically and really rather deserved to chuck herself off a building given what a mess she'd made of their lives with her loopy scheme.
Watchable for the good acting and the restaurant milieu and if you don't mind it being a travesty of history. Watchable if you like a melodrama and don't mind that it isn't realistic, or assume the modern couple had an uncertain grasp on reality anyway. But don't expect the later part to make any sense if you prefer plays to be in the real world, just ride with the melodrama if you can and admire the actors.
Had Shakespeare written this play now, set in our time, he wouldn't have written what the BBC issued because it doesn't make modern sense. A shame the modern writer couldn't take that thought on board rather than going overboard with unrealistic melodrama. The melodrama could have worked if the basic setting had worked. With the restaurant setting something more devious was needed. In a different setting and with far more at stake for the Macbeths than hurt pride, the two murders might have made sense. You could say "murders have been done for less" but are we to suppose Shakespeare's Macbeth and his wife are idiots? Of course they aren't. And a great deal was at stake in a historical period in which murder by one prince of another for power or revenge wasn't unusual. In this modern retake, clearly they are idiots.
The three witches are amusingly played as refuse men.