This condensed Macbeth "for ages six and up" had a lot demanded of it. Shakespeare's plays were hardly written for kids, and some of Macbeth's themes are challenging for young minds. While most of the time the audience of excitable school groups at the Regent's Park Open Air theatre was too absorbed to be daunted, some scenes were received with uncontrollable giggles, particularly the kissing scenes between Macbeth (Trevor White) and Lady Macbeth (Golda Rosheuvel).
Malcolm's opening appearance set the tone with a simple and colloquial plot exposition, and Harry McEntire's youthful enthusiasm made him instantly appealing. Macbeth was energetic and manic rather than melancholy, while Lady Macbeth was seductively evil in the style of a Disney villainess.
The set design appealed to childish delight in destruction. Over the course of the play, a backdrop of pristine white tarpaulin was graffitied with characters' names, spattered with blood and filled with holes, while the pond in the centre was gradually filled with fake blood, headless doll babies and the floating corpse of Ross (Josephine Butler), who stayed face-down for a worryingly long time.
Some unintended humour was added by the last-minute stand-in for Macduff, too big for the original actor's trousers, which impeded his bowing somewhat.
