‘Macbeth’ // La Boite Theatre

‘Macbeth’ was haunting.

La Boite Theatre kicks off its significant 100th-year staging work with a re-telling of Shakespeare’s tragedy of ambition and cyclical violence. Maximalist, bold, and evocative, every component of theatre is put on full display to make a statement about how war and desire can strip away our natural being into something more harrowing.

Co-directors Courtney Stewart and Lisa Fa’alafi with dramaturg Sue Rider, have recentered the text onto the three witches’ perspective (Portrayed by Roxanne McDonald, Mel Ree and Nicole Hoskins) As they lose themselves into the supposed narrative, the supernatural madness threatens to consume them until the lines between the vessel and needless victim are blurred beyond belief.

Shakespeare purists do not fret! The Bard’s work from 1623 is largely intact and still set in Scotland and England. The major selling point of this adaptation is that the three-person ensemble embodies each character, creating a dissonance between how the witches act as unruly prophets of Hecate and the mortal characters that they reinterpret. It’s radical if you look closely, but the narrative remains the same.

This production is a masterclass in mood and tone. From the evocative use of red and white colour to the blood-stained twisted bilan weave hovering above, the screaming and wailing cries and sobs of Brady Watkins’ sound design and Teegan Kranenburg’s lighting, the supernatural components are awe-inspiring and unsettling. Audiences in the round are fully engrossed in the witches’ metaphorical lens, and it. Is. Fantastic. An Arthouse Blockbuster world of symbolism and feeling. Mainstage production values at its best.  

The ensemble here is vitriolic, working well to accommodate the speedy pace of the production. Macdonald’s role as Witch 1, while ghosting Duncan and Porter, is wise and solemn. They carry the tone and supernatural leanings of this world while selling, while also being able to land the comedic beats when necessary. Perfect casting. Furthermore, Ree’s Witch 2 services the story by embodying Macbeth with a strong and commanding presence that believably captures the nobility taken over by bloodlust.

Hoskin’s Witch 3 acts as a shapeshifting spider, whose physicality covering Lady Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo and Malcolm makes a strong antagonistic force. This take gives them ample exploration into how wanting to be unsexed beyond the body into the masculine environment warps around, resulting in an effective contrast to Ree’s performance. Overall, each performer is more than proficient in this retelling.

Some may be disappointed that character changes are more restrained in this production, as physicality, minimalist costuming and status take priority over more clear markers of vocal inflections. However, I argue that audiences are not watching the characters of Macbeth in their ‘purest’ form. Dramaturgically, the witches serve as vessels portrayed physically by three women of colour for the endless cyclical violence rooted in the men they embody to serve as the true antagonists. How far can these vessels defy Hecate, the goddess looking down as their subjects become as destructive as the spirits they so embody? Are they distinct enough to tell the story of Macbeth?

The provocations that I present here are reasons why Stewart and Fa’alafi’s direction is so brilliant. They want audiences to subconsciously feel the violent nature of Macbeth through the witches’ P.O.V. because the intertextuality in ghosting past productions transforms this piece from good to great. Yes, it’s abridged, quick, and sometimes difficult to make out, yet the witches’ world is sharp, quick, hazy and unnerving, and each piece of blocking, sound, and iconic moment is horrific and primal. It isn’t staging the full text as much as audiences can feel the disorientation happening in their bones. The witches’ souls are on the line, half- remembered and in-between possessions as ghosts of Macbeth and Hecate, the masculine and the feminine, colonisers and natives, the seen and unseen are at war with one another. A conventional rewrite or a transparent staging of this message would, while serviceable, dilute what the cast and crew are doing here.

The fact the co-directors’ vision synthesises so commendably demonstrates the following ethos: how can canonical texts like this one be restaged to challenge beyond doing a ‘faithful’ adaptation or a clear and conventional rewrite? Can Professional mainstage theatre push boundaries and challenge its audience with art like this? I’m sure many conversations will be held about La Boite’s Macbeth amongst Brisbane audiences in education, industry, critics, fans, and casuals. And if that isn’t what great, awesome, powerful theatre can achieve, I’m not sure what can for this city.

Overall, La Boite’s Macbeth is a must-see theatre. Opening its centenary with the boldest and most interesting professional mainstage show I’ve seen in years, this company is ready to go all out to demonstrate how this medium can provoke and challenge its audience. It’s feminine, unsettling, and a testament to its enduring place in the Australian theatrical landscape. Run. Ticket scalp if it’s sold out. Demand an encore if they can’t extend the season. Go watch it.

‘Macbeth performs until Saturday, 22 March 2025 at La Boite Theatre. For more information visit their website.

Photos by Farley Ward