Paul Hart’s demonic reinterpretation of the Bard’s best -loved comment on regicide and tyranny falls remarkably flat. Hart’s production attempts to incorporate the musical talents of its cast to create a cacophony of sound to accompany the terrible tale of ambition, greed and murder. Yet the jagged interruptions of various versions of Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones seem to take the piece out of itself and far from subverting the darker themes or enhancing a sense of unease and foreboding, they simply read as inauthentic.

Following the ascension of Macbeth to the throne of Scotland a cover of Frank Sinatra’s L.O.V.E accompanies the monarchs dance and far from being a moment of subversive hilarity or imbuing the moment with a deeper disturbance seemed frankly, out of place. Elsewhere the production is riddled with structural inconsistencies through ill-thought through gender swaps. Banquo and Fleance become woman and girl, causing one to question whether Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness isn’t rather postponed; given it is originally the brutality and wasteful murder of Macduff’s wife and children that provides the ultimate catalyst for her demise. Hart works around the question of witches by animating an army of military undead as a cohesive voice of supernatural prophecy, which given the over-reliance on demonic imagery seems rather a missed opportunity for occult visuals.

Despite the clear effort exerted by the production team to work the concept of the Macbeth's owning a hotel in hell, as one long neon sign flickers out the ‘O’ and ‘T’ periodically to spell ‘HEL’ atop three hotel room doors each baring the number 6, the concept seems rather haphazardly hustled together. Given that the play’s themes are already alarmingly obvious the extension of this into the slightly campy set design in the Watermill’s intimate, murky interior does very little to transport us to Scotland’s harrowing heaths and the Macbeths fortress. Likewise Emma McDonald and Billy Postlethwaite as our cunning bloodthirsty couple shimmer with overly zealous determination to really sell it to us without the crucial connection between them that makes the exploit so electrifying. Victoria Blunt’s Malcom is one of few standouts in an overwhelmingly young cast, bristling with regal recalcitrance and poignant pragmatism and despite the productions desperate need for dramaturgical re-evaluation, the sight of a gender equal cast in regional theatre is genuinely heartening.

Whichever way this balance is found, vignettes of happier/earlier days would have pulled me in the story and in Robyn’s psyche a lot more, to probably punch harder as the play ends. The loftier the start, the bigger the crash.

Once the play moves to Prospero's mysterious island, and the venue for the remainder of the production, the sparseness of the staging really becomes apparent. Geoff Norris as director has made Shakespeare himself the main character in this production, in that it is his masterly plotting and scene development that holds sway and the audiences attention. Too many times in past productions and, I would guess, with far larger budgets directors have bamboozled and beguiled with effects and lavish sets. For me, this isn't what Shakespeare is about. It is the beauty of the words and phrases when partnered with the brilliance of performing the script that should always focus the audiences attention. The responsibility of bringing The Bard to life once more is that of the cast and not a well stocked FX department! The lighting effects are effective and sparingly used with most of the focus on the large backdrop with the sun/ moon being lit appropriately to accentuate the time of day. The use of actors to convey the drowning scene are effective and brilliantly portrayed with minimal fuss.

The cast for The Tempest are an international delight and expertly bring to life every emotional delicacy that is available to be tasted. This sounds like an overly flowery statement to make but it is one that is perfectly appropriate. Richie Donaldson's Prospero has the depth and emotional power of a man that has long ago slain his past demons but, and at the same time, demonstrates his
world weariness. Here to is a deep love for his daughter, Miranda, and I delighted in the scenes where he lovingly tells the story of how they came to live on the island. Miranda, brought to vivid and stunning life by Italian actress, Elena Mazzon. I have enjoyed some of Elena's previous productions and always love the emotional intensity she brings to her performance. Samuel Mattioli's Ferdinand is simply a wonder and his dizzying, almost drunken stupor, on learning the news that Miranda is in love with him lit up the stage. Manish Srivastava is appropriately oafish as the slow witted, Calaban, yet evokes tremendous sympathy as a character who just wants to escape the shackles of slavery. Drunken comic relief is provided by Michael Claff and Alexander Yousri in their portrayals of Stephano and Trinculo respectively provided many comedic moments. The dastardly and quick witted Antonio is brought to acerbic life by Eshy Moyo and his scenes with Sebastian, Robert Land, are both funny and intense. Their planned betrayal of the irritatingly wordy Gonzalo, turncoat and weasel, is devious but perhaps understandable if only to cease the man's incessant prattling. Ted Duran is strident and true in his performance of Alonso and it is his scenes with Prospero that provide an emotional resonance.

Jennifer Haley’s newest play is now at the Duke of York having transferred from the Royal Court. The Nether takes a step into the not so distant future and the idea of people being hooked into a nether realm (an alternate reality) for most of their lives. Something we are seeing become more and more apparent as we move towards virtual reality. In this world Haley discusses what happens to those of us with a slightly darker sexual appetite.

His awkward performance actually gave the character something quite fresh which I enjoyed in places, but for a singer I did expect a little more. I thought his particular song styling would stand him in good stead for this show but it was a little lacking, with other members of cast clearing holding back to help him out. There were points in some of the hit songs such as ‘Gold’, Falling Slowly’ and ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ where we completely lost him altogether.