Reviews of Macbeth—Director's Cut

'The two actors are quite magnificent.'
'This innovative production leaves the rest of the festival with quite an act to follow.'
Colette Sheridan, Irish Examiner 2000

'..it brings one closer to the dark heart of the play than many more orthodox versions … performed with dauntless energy by Davies and Smith and persuasively suggests a timeless link between murder and marital passion.'
Michael Billington, The Guardian 1999

'From the serenity of the subdued Blue Danube waltz, red ruched curtains bathed in red light and a spinning silvery ball, Lady Macbeth rips down the curtain and we are catapulted into the banal and putrid 20th century suburban domestic set, with clothes drying on stands and the Lady in a pink dressing gown washing the blood from her hands in the kitchen sink.'
Vivian Goldsmith, Sunday Business 1999

'For those who like their Shakespeare shaken and stirred, this is a novel distillation of one aspect of the text, performed with remarkable conviction'
Anthony Holden, The Observer Review 1999

'It's all way over-the-top, but it powerfully underlines the way sex gets perverted, for this couple, into goading blackmail, a stimulus to and attempted relief from murder.'
Paul Taylor, The Independent 1999

'..Fern Smith and Paul Davies run riot in Charnock's libidinous choreography. They recognise no nihilistic limit as they mollycoddle one another, battle with scaffolding and launch themselves into their blood-thirsty frenzy like five-star psychopaths on holiday.'
Patrick Marmion, Evening Standard 1999

'There was an initial shock at seeing the Macbeths gibbering in their undies which triggered the giggles, but within moments Paul Davies and Fern Smith had their audience in thrall.'
John Thaxter, The Stage 1999

'..like seeing Tarantino on stage'
What's On 1999

'This is a terrific production - see it, and be prepared for sensory overload.'
Michael Saffell, Bath Chronicle 1999