Macbeth: Toil and Trouble Abound in Shakespeare's Bloody Masterpiece Reviews
Washington Post- Recommended
"...Director Liesl Tommy's action-packed production is a tale of Africa suffering at the hands of Western interventionists. It is never more alive than during its battles; this show is notably fluent in the vocabulary of African violence. Child soldiers? Yes - that's who Macbeth recruits to assassinate his erstwhile sidekick Banquo and Banquo's son. Necklacing? Yes - a tire is tossed over the head of a victim and doused with gasoline as she's wrestled offstage."
DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended
"...Blood will have blood-so go the grim words of Macbeth as it dawns on him that murder is not as simple as he once thought. When it comes to battling and bloodshed, Shakespeare Theatre Company's production delivers. But rather than depicting kings and battles from Shakespeare's day, Tony-award-winning director Liesl Tommy has turned this story into one that provides powerful lessons for today."
MetroWeekly- Recommended
"...Many of the elements are in place: a so-called nontraditional or "colorblind" production, the cast is almost exclusively of color (save for the three witches, whose whiteness carries its own significance in this interpretation). Though it is not the first such rendering of Macbeth, its placing of the action in contemporary Africa - in which cell phones, jet-setting finery and modern music mix with traditional dress, custom and song - feels exceptionally fresh and unique. In fact, some of the most affecting moments are those in which director Liesl Tommy sets past and present side by side."
MD Theatre Guide- Recommended
"...Overall, this production of "Macbeth" proved to be a relevant piece of theater that will surely resonate with today's political climate."
DCTheatreScene- Recommended
"...Macbeth is famously Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. But with all the extra showiness and asides piled on top of an already mostly uncut (at least by contemporary standards) text, the whole structure starts to creak and teeter by the second act. Clocking in at nearly 3 hours at what seems suspiciously like the tightest-timed performance it will get all run, Macbeth is far from the high velocity affair usually staged. Perhaps this overall languorous and lengthy pace takes away from the traditionally powerhouse monologues of Macbeth and his Lady, which typically provide a break from the break-neck action, but don't turn any heads here."
BroadwayWorld- Recommended
"...One definite high point of comic relief comes from Myra Lucretia Taylor's delightful Porter; she's all business when she returns later as doctor. There is also some outspoken rage from Marcus Naylor's Macduff following the slaughter of his wife and child (Nilanjana Bose and Trinity Sky Deabreu), an operation that involves gasoline and tires."