The Bard's tragic tale delivered with passion, bit of levity
Shakespeare's Macbeth still has the power to enthral audiences with its tale of a too-ambitious general who kills the Scottish king, usurps the throne and descends into increasingly depraved murders as his tormented mind fills up with 'scorpions' of guilt.
Essential to the story are the three witches' prophecies about Macbeth and his honourable friend Banquo, and the eternal question of whether we control our own destinies.
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Lindsay Nance as Lady Macbeth and Darren Martens in the title role of Shakespeare in the Ruins's promenade production of Macbeth.
In great productions, 'the Scottish play' is a horrifying tragedy. Its relevance to the current reign of the amoral, arrogant King Trump is striking.
Shakespeare in the Ruins' Macbeth opened at the Trappist Monastery ruins in St. Norbert on Friday night, after its planned Thursday opening was cancelled because of wildfire smoke. Helmed by Emma Welham in her professional directing debut, the production doesn't attain the dark intimacy or intensity to truly shock or chill.
This Macbeth, which runs 2 1/2 hours including intermission, also doesn't equal the overall polished professionalism of some past SiR shows.
Macbeth
The only music is the ominous pounding of a drum. Anika Binding's costumes and Lovissa Wiens' minimal sets have the scrounged-up look usually seen at the fringe festival.
Men wear what look like polyester pants along with vaguely medieval-styled sashes, cloaks and hoods of synthetic fabric. The props include a plastic plant pot for the weird sisters' cauldron.
Still, it's compelling to watch the plucky cast of just seven actors throw everything they've got into a fiercely physical outdoor performance. The action includes scaling and jumping over walls, violent killings via stabbing, slashing and neck-cracking, and expertly choreographed sword fighting.
The ruins' weathered brick and stone walls make a wonderfully evocative backdrop for an era of candlelit castles. The audience, which is issued lawn chairs, is led to five locations — perhaps one chair schlep too many — in and around the picturesque ruins and grounds.
Bits of levity arise from characters running in at full tilt to report the latest news, and from the witches popping up to tell the audience in rhyme that it's time to change locations.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Macbeth (Darren Martens) and Lady Macbeth (Lindsay Nance) deal with the aftermath of their deadly ambition.
The actors refrain from spewing rapid torrents of text, carefully pacing their delivery so most of the lines can be understood.
Darren Martens as Macbeth and Lindsay Nance as Lady Macbeth make a picture-perfect couple, but lack dramatic ferocity as they proceed from entitled self-assurance to anguish and madness. Each has some strong moments, as well as too-guarded moments that don't get at the guts of their roles.
Ideally, Macbeth should be so riveting that the audience can't look away. Martens could make his voice and presence much bigger. He isn't helped when the director places him too far from the audience.
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Nance's Lady Macbeth tends to be contained when we expect her to be furiously worked up, especially when she calls on the spirits to masculinize her, then taunts her husband into murder.
It's unfortunate that Nance also has to play soldiers and other minor roles, which aren't well differentiated.
Three actors display the mature technique to command the outdoor spaces. Ray Strachan is thrillingly passionate as Macduff.
Tracy Penner superbly embodies both the female Banquo (as well as her ghost) and Lady Macduff, holding nothing back emotionally. The latter's screams of agony upon seeing her innocent son murdered are wrenching.
Tom Keenan creates multiple distinct characters, including King Duncan, a witch and the porter (gatekeeper) who likens the castle doors to the gates of Hell.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Darren Martens (left) as Macbeth and Lindsay Nance as Lady Macbeth make a picture-perfect couple in SiR's promenade production.
In a funny respite from the play's 'bloody business,' Keenan's porter is a Scottish standup comic who teasingly interacts with audience members. More crowd participation ensues when folks are recruited to fill seats at the ghost-plagued banquet, but it distracts from — here's that word again — the intensity of the scene.
The three witches, played by the male actors Keenan, Liam Dutiaume and Mackenzie Wojcik, are effectively conceived as shrieking, cawing, birdlike creatures in cloaks of white rags that suggest feathers.
When they exploit Macbeth's ego by delivering their second set of riddle-like prophecies, they become grotesquely clownlike. The famous 'By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes' is broadly played for laughs.
While many productions of this masterwork bring out the hags' comic dimensions, there's something to be said for a more classical approach of letting the supernatural scenes be darkly frightening. This show may be a summer outing, but it could use more creepy chill.
arts@freepress.mb.ca
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'That, to me, is absolutely a thing of beauty. That does my heart good.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Bill, a former state government employee, has dedicated his retirement to keeping his only son happy and healthy. He doesn't golf himself, but carries a tripod around the course to shoot video of Charlie's shots, along with his own play-by-play as if he were Jim Nantz. 'You never know when he's going to do something amazing,' said Bill. They are then uploaded to an Instagram account that has now swelled to more than 50,000 followers. 'Maybe it's the way I swing the club and set myself up different than everyone else?' Charlie said when asked about the support. 'I really do enjoy the folks that are following me. Everywhere I go it's just been great.' There's also a charitable element to what they do, with more than $60,000 pledged by followers for autism organizations. Charlie has a part-time job at a grocery store, working three four-hour shifts a week while also being able to take unpaid time away to go on these tours with his father, who he calls his role model. 'We have a really good bond,' he said. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Charlie Bristow with his dad Bill (left) at Bel Acres Golf Course Thursday. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Charlie Bristow with his dad Bill (left) at Bel Acres Golf Course Thursday. Before they headed home on Friday morning, Charlie and Bill took in Thursday night's Winnipeg Blue Bombers game at the invitation of kicker Sergio Castillo. Bill does remote, part-time statistical work for a Texas high school football team, which had a connection with Castillo, who invited them down to field level prior to kickoff. Bel Acres was officially the 276th different course Charlie has now played — he shot 90, which would be about average for him, especially in strong winds. There are already plans well into 2026 to keep adding to that number in various locales, including a first-ever father-and-son trip to the United Kingdom. Hayduk had one final request as they sat inside the clubhouse following their round, enjoying lunch. 'Put this down in your calendar again for next year. I plan to still be here,' he told Charlie and Bill. 'Watching what you've experienced and how you carry yourself truly inspires me.' X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
