This was a great production. I recall gently persuading Janie to see Macbeth again – she’s no fan of Shakespeare and felt that she had “done” Macbeth when seeing the 1994 Jacobi version.
It was the pull of Tony Sher and Harriet Walter that won Janie round, firstly to attending and in the end to admitting what a fabulous production this production at The Young Vic was. It was fast, it was furious, it was very memorable. Greg Doran knows a thing or two about doing Shakespeare.
The Theatricalia entry reminds me that the 2000 version was an RSC touring production that started at the Swan in late 1999 and ended up at The Young Vic in mid 2000.
Here’s Charles Spencer’s review from the Swan:
Article from 18 Nov 1999 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)
While Spencer gushed, Susannah Clapp really raved about it in the Observer:
Article from 21 Nov 1999 The Observer (London, Greater London, England)
Paul Taylor also spoke very highly of it in The Independent:
Article from 17 Nov 1999 The Independent (London, Greater London, England)
Here’s Nicholas de Jongh’s take on the production, once it landed at The Young Vic:
Article from 28 Apr 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)
Is the ultimate accolade five stars from our friend, Michael Billington?
Article from 17 Nov 1999 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)
Of course not – the ultimate accolade is Janie admitting that this was an exciting, jaw-dropping production of a play she didn’t much like.