Macbeth in Cantonese, Shakespeare’s Globe, London

Last at this address during the Globe to Globe festival of 2012 (when all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays were performed in 37 languages by companies from around the world), Hong Kong’s Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio makes a welcome return with this elegant, pared-back Macbeth. It is performed in Cantonese but the scene synopses projected at the side of the stage help to keep non-speakers of the language orientated and Tang Shu-wing’s staging has a pleasing simplicity and uses dynamic, vivid imagery to deliver the story.

In Tang’s production, a modern couple dream that they are embroiled in the Macbeths’ journey set in China’s ancient past. A simple curtain backdrop suggests a mountainous region, but the action has the curious intensity of a dream, and throughout the staging combines ritualistic, choreographed movement with psychological acuity. As Ng Wai Shek’s lean, troubled Macbeth inches his way slowly towards home after meeting the witches, Rosa Maria Velasco’s fine, subtle Lady Macbeth responds to his letter, her detailed responses helping you to see her thought process in action.

As an English speaker you miss the poetry and unforgettable verbal imagery of the text, together with the brooding sense of unease and turmoil that it creates. But Tang’s visual work reveals shapes and patterns in the play. As Duncan (Chan Wing Chuen) and his retinue retire to supper, Macbeth walks blindly through them on to the stage, cutting through their ranks like a dagger: choreography that emphasises the contrast between his supposed hospitality and his murderous intent. Later, this moment is recalled by a similar set of pathways when Banquo (a lovely, open performance from Lo Chun Ho) sets off riding and the murderers engaged by Macbeth move quietly centre stage.

Less clear though is the significance of the contemporary framework, which is not expanded. And the scaled-down version of the play means that you lose the political context, the sense of a war-torn country, an opportunist on the make and the sheer velocity of the escalation. This in turn detracts from the urgency of the play and the ending. There are a few perplexing decisions too — why show the dagger of Macbeth’s mind’s eye, for instance, but not the ghost of Banquo? But there is a bewitching hypnotic grace to this spare, psychologically-focused Macbeth, and both the eerie creaking sounds from the witches and the atmospheric music (all provided by Heidi Wai-Yee Chan) linger long in the mind.

shakespearesglobe.com