Fiona Gwinnett and Peter Stockman in Elsie and Norm’s Macbeth. Picture by Robin Crossley.
STAGE REVIEWA MODERN-DAY comedy adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth had the audience in stitches.
The play, entitled Elsie and Norm’s Macbeth, is being aired on Monday nights throughout August in the stunning surroundings of Shanklin Theatre.
The show opens to the sound of bagpipes blasting out in the outdated living room/kitchen of Elsie and Norm, intended to be set in the present day.
Elsie, played by Fiona Gwinnett, starts to talk to the audience and explain how she and Norm, played by Peter Stockman, are going to tell the story of the 11th century play Macbeth — but not as we know it.
Straight away, I felt as if I was in on the show and sitting in their living room, watching a play within a play, such was the convincing interaction by the pair.
After a spot of re-writing by Norm – a regular contributor to the Pigeon Breeders’ Gazette — to make it snappier and more punchy, Elsie and Norm set out to play all the characters between them. Well, all the characters that is except for Banquo, who is played by a toy puppet panda in a kilt, and his son, Fleance, played by a smaller puppet panda in a kilt.
The show is frantic from the off, with Elsie swapping characters and costumes between a witch, King Duncan, a postman, Macduff, a bungling baddie and Lady Macbeth among others. Norm also switches between numerous parts, most notably as the ginger-haired and tartan-kilted Macbeth, and the hilarious young heir to the Scottish throne, Prince Malcolm, who had the audience in fits of laughter. The impressive range of regional accents must also be noted, including Lancashire, Brummie and Scottish.
And as the show went on, I found myself remembering more and more from the original Shakespeare play, that I studied many years ago.
There has to be a lot of praise for the duo who remembered a lengthy script faultlessly, when there was no room for mistake, and kept the audience informed about what was going on.
The play is directed by Andy Ball, who has been involved in theatre for more than ten years and has won awards for his work on the stage. And judging by his latest comedy production, it is easy to see why he has been so successful, especially working with such talented performers as Peter and Fiona.
Reporter: jamiew@iwcpmail.co.uk