This is underwhelming. But megahyped.
Tickets were selling in Edinburgh at an unprecedented £175 face value. This is frankly ridiculous.
Indira Varma does a good Lady MacBeth.
But Ralph Fiennes is too old, too decrepit to be a believable ambition driven monarch. He looks more like a nice wee spot in a care home would suit him quite nicely. (My pal said he was like Leonard Rossiter in Rising Damp and I have to agree.)
As we enter the theatre (makeshift and terribly short legroom) we pass through a modern war zone (could be Syria, could be Gaza) it makes us think we are in for a modern reinterpretation of the greatest ever play.
We are, but in costume only, as it transpires.
What follows is a competent (but no more than that ) retelling of the story of Scotland’s greatest King(s).
We await greatness but it seems it will only come tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow.
I thought it was a bit of a mess really with its Star Trek whooshing doors and its slightly distempered stage.
The witches are boring, Fiennes is boring. Thank God for Indira.
Fine, but pedestrian.
If you are in Washington and hoping for the greatest English Shakespearian production of your life…save your money. Go watch Rising Damp on YouTube. Save yourself a few bucks.
gibberish 