Blood will have Blood

• Gareth K Vile
• 16 August 2016

This article is from 2016.

An experimental Macbeth that can't quite decide

Macbeth does not really need another interpretation: even by the standards of Shakespeare mania, it has been reimagined beyond familiarity into contempt. Blood will have Blood dispenses with most of the play, though, and focuses in a single, usually obscure plot detail.

The audience are invited to don headphones and play the role of a fugitive from the bloody tyrant. A witch then educates the amnesiac hero, before sending him off to action. Caught between post-visual and immersive theatre modes, the show never hits its stride: the audience participation is roughly managed, involving plenty of business but little engagement, and the audio feeds, although well recorded and following a potentially intriguing tale, gets stuck in a series of instructions.

Nevertheless, the performance of the witch is appropriately disturbing and there are moments of ritual and tension that hint at a new way of engaging audiences within a performance. The new perspective on Macbeth is welcome, but the company, Immercity, are trying to find their voice: the seeds of future greatness may be there, but this hour is confusing and uncomfortable.

C nova, until 29 Aug, times vary, £11.50–£13.50 (£9.50–£11.50).