Reviews by Miranda Taylor (aged 12) and Rosalind Taylor (aged 12) of "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, adapted and produced for younger audiences by Justin Audibert and the National Theatre, 2017

Review by Rosalind Taylor
The play Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare and has had many adaptions since then. I saw the recent version which was produced by the National Theatre in 2017.

This very famous play is about a man called Macbeth who is told by three witches that he will rise through the ranks and become king. In order to become king, he has to kill others but in return receives punishment.

Macbeth is first shown as a hero but later the image of that shatters.

The first thing I noticed about this production of the play was that it was very gender neutral as Banquo was played by a woman, while other characters, such as one of the witches, had their genders changed. I thought this was a good idea.

The clothing had  a realistic design and was fitted to the performance, while the backdrops did not change throughout the play. The lighting was always dark and this suits the play, as this is meant to be an upsetting play. It fits with the sinister mood. I enjoyed the play overall.


Review by Miranda Taylor
The production that we watched was Macbeth by the National Theatre. It was 1hr 44 minutes. Though it was a shorter version, I felt it dragged on a bit. I felt a bit bored though it was good, well set out and easy to understand.

Macbeth’s main theme is jealously. Macbeth is jealous of the king, though it’s also a tiny bit romantic because of Macbeth’s wife and her hypnotising him to kill Malcolm.  

They only used the same stage set throughout the play, though this could be a good or bad thing. They made it look like lots of different places, such as a house and a castle, because it was used well. On the other hand, this might be seen as lazy to some people.

This production is very educational and taught me more about Macbeth and Shakespeare’s stories.

Overall, the lighting effects, costumes and everything in this play were good. 

About the reviewers
Rosalind Taylor is twelve years old. She enjoys manga and has a twin sister called Miranda. Miranda Taylor is also twelve years old and also likes manga.