Book Reviews and More: Macbeth Stratford Festival 2025 A Review

Macbeth

2025

Stratford Festival

Ex Machina

Director and Designer Robert Lepage

Assistant Director André Sills

Creative Director Steve Blanchet

Assistant Director Félix Dagenais

Set and Props Designer Ariane Sauvé

Costume Designer Michael Gianfrancesco

Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell

Composer and Sound Designer John Gzowski

Fight and Intimacy Director Anita Nittoly

Macbeth Stratford Festival 2025 A Review

Macbeth Stratford Festival 2025 A Review Set During Intermission

This was the first of six planned shows this season my son and I attended with shows ranging from late May to mid-October. This was also the first Shakespeare my youngest daughter attended, at 14 she was blown away by the performance. Over the last few years my son, who is now 17, and I have attended a number of plays in Stratford at the festival, and each year we have an ever growing list of shows we want to see. We eagerly await the announcements of the season’s shows and often buy our tickets early in the winter. The other shows we have seen or plan to see this season are As You Like It, The Winter's Tale, Annie, Anne of Green Gables, and Goblin Oedipus. My daughter loved this one so much we added a ticket the next night for her to join us for As You Like It.

My son and I read a version of this play before it before attending it.

All three of us loved this production. It is an incredible experience from the beginning to the end. There were so many fantastic elements in this production.

The summary of the play on the festival site states:

““IT WILL HAVE BLOOD, THEY SAY; BLOOD WILL HAVE BLOOD.”

Three witches speak a prophecy of power to an ambitious warrior. When the prophecies prove true and the bodies pile up, where lies the blame: in prophecy, fate or Macbeth’s own secret desires? What alignment of stars guides the anti-hero Macbeth’s bloody hand? This bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy by visionary director Robert Lepage sets the uncanny action during the biker wars of the 1990s.”

The synopsis in the house program states:

“A mesmerizing prophecy. Unchecked political ambition. Tyranny and civil war. In Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatizes the consequence of individual evil with a stark clarity that continues to shock audiences centuries later.

Three witches speak a prophecy of power to the ambitious warrior, Macbeth. As the prophecies come true and bodies pile up, where lies the blame: in prophecy, fate or Macbeth’s secret desires? Are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth victims of fate, dangled before them in the form of three guileful witches? Or do the witches merely grant the couple permission to act out their power-starved will?

This bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy sets the uncanny action during the biker wars of the 1990s.”

After the play we have an almost an hour drive home, and usually spend the time discussing the performance. One of the things we often discuss is favourite performers. We each come up with our list, this time there is significant overlap.

My top ranking for the performers would be:

Lucy Peacock as Lady Macbeth

Tom Rooney as Macduff

Austin Eckert as Malcolm

Graham Abbey as Banquo

My son's top picks are:

David Collins as Duncan

Austin Eckert as Malcolm

Tom Mccamus as Macbeth

Lucy Peacock as Lady Macbeth

Graham Abbey as Banquo

My daughters were:

Austin Eckert as Malcolm

Lucy Peacock as Lady Macbeth

Maria Vacratsis as the Porter

Tom Mccamus as Macbeth

Tom Rooney as Macduff

The full cast is:

Macbeth, Thane Of Glamis, Later Of Cawdor, Later King - Tom Mccamus

Lady Macbeth, Later Queen - Lucy Peacock

Duncan, The King - David Collins

Malcolm, His Son - Austin Eckert

Banquo, A Thane - Graham Abbey

Fleance, His Son - Anthony Frescura-Denomme, Daxton Scurr

Macduff, Thane Of Fife - Tom Rooney

The Witches - Aidan Desalaiz, Paul Dunn, Anthony Palermo

Ross, A Thane - André Sills

Lennox, A Thane - Emilio Vieira

Porter - Maria Vacratsis

Siward, An Earl - David Collins

Seyton - Matthew Kabwe

Messenger - Aidan Desalaiz

Paramedic - Paul Dunn

Detective - Anthony Palermo

The Murderers - Dakota Jamal Wellman and Matthew Kabwe

Bikers, Picnic Guests, Bodyguards and Others Played By Members Of The Company

3rd Apparition - Gordon Paul Miller

Understudies

Lady Macbeth, Porter - Michelle Giroux

Witch 1 - Christo Graham

Lennox, Witch 2, Paramedic, Witch 3, Detective - Josh Johnston

Ross - Matthew Kabwe

Macduff, Duncan, Siward - John Kirkpatrick

Malcolm, Seyton, Murderers - Tarique Lewis

Macbeth - André Sills

Banquo - Emilio Vieira

When my son and I found out that André Sills is the understudy for Macbeth we would love to go back and see him perform this role, in this production. This was an incredible staging and production of this play. According to my son it was 6 years ion development between Ex Machine and Stratford. The use of Light, sound, projection is masterfully done. The use of 6 motorcycles, and the staging with the mirrored surfaces to make the stage look much larger, and more populated is wonderfully done. And the rotating set of the motel with the wings that come in and out, and even rotate around to a backside, wow! And the use of windows in the motel and events partially in sight. Our only 2 complaints were Lucy Peacocks wig, all the promotional material has her grey hair and it looks magnificent, the red wig works but I think it would have been even more powerful with her natural grey, and my daughter commented on the same thing. The second is the tattoos they are too shiny, they need some powder to mute them, my daughter commented that they were at times distracting. Both teens commented on this. And as someone with several inking’s they all just look fresh and with protection cream on them. There has to be a way to mute it. Overall a masterful staging.

This is an easier play to follow and one many have studied in high school or university. It is a story many are familiar with. The director’s note in the handbill states:

“Whatever the reason for its brevity, this great story doesn’t seem to have any of its limbs missing and reads as an impactful and concise modern screenplay. Because that’s exactly what The Tragedy of Macbeth is: a “modern” play. Whatever way you stage it or whatever historical period you set it in, its despotic tragic hero is easily recognizable in many political leaders past and present. So, the director should not try to “modernize” it but rather choose a context in which contemporary audiences can better grasp the twists and turns of the intrigue and the psychological complexities of the characters. One way to achieve this is to set a plot of epic proportion in a small and compact microcosm.

In our case, we chose the world of motorcycle gangs. Surprisingly, bikers seem to be ruled by the same medieval systems of hierarchy and rank, with codes of conduct and honour. It is a patriarchal system of governance where members show respect and loyalty to their leaders. It is often populated by good-hearted people who have chosen a different and adventurous way of life. But some are also highly skilled when it comes to murdering, drug dealing, arms trafficking as well as countless other illicit activities. And, of course, it is often a world of toxic masculinity where violent acts are normal rites of passage. In some gangs, patches are awarded to members as a badge of honour for having murdered on behalf of the club. In this kind of setting, a strong and ruthless character like Lady Macbeth would certainly want her man to prove his manliness. She actually manipulates him into murdering Duncan by challenging his masculinity: “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man.” Later, Macbeth himself provokes the murderers he hires to kill Banquo by questioning their manhood, and when Macduff learns of the murders of his wife and children, Malcolm tells him to take the news in a “manly” fashion by seeking revenge.”

And it concludes with:

“The challenge for an actor when playing these types of characters is not to condemn them but to try to understand their reality. At the start, Macbeth is a courageous soldier who is not inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires advancement. Duncan apparently has the merit to not be a corrupt boss, attracting “golden opinions” from others, and is even referred to as a saint. Once Macbeth kills Duncan, his ambition to hold on to his position becomes intertwined with paranoia. Rather than being able to enjoy the fruits of his ambition, he becomes obsessed with maintaining the power he has won.

I believe a tragedy about a powerful leader with unchecked ambition is all too timely and definitely a “modern” play.”

This was another amazing production from the cast, crew and artistic team at the Stratford Festival. Of all the plays I have seen going back 40 years it is one of my favourite production. If you have the chance to see it, in theatre or on film if this is one they record we can easily recommend it. An amazing production we can easily recommend.

Note: Photos by David Hou/Stratford Festival.