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Too cold for comfort Dunsinane Birmingham Rep *** DUNSINANE is David Grieg’s richly
imagined sequel to Macbeth. It’s not a parody or pastiche of the bards
work but a modern play with very modern language. So Macbeth is dead and his queen now called
Gruach resides alone in the castle Dunsinane. The English army battles
its way to the castle under the leadership of Siward. Expecting an easy
task of unifying Scotland he finds Gruach still holds the allegiance of
the clans and she refuses to submit to or help the English rule. The Scottish King Malcolm awaits his fate balancing his devious politics between the queen and the efforts of Siward to bring peace to the country. Siobhan Redmond as Gruach and by
Jonny Phillips as Siward. Picture: Simon Murphy It’s not essential to know the details of the original Scottish play as Grieg’s focuses his plot on the issues that face any military force once the battle has been won. Written during the fall of Saddam Hussein the
play has become recognised by most as a portrayal that mirrors that era
alongside being the closest thing to an official sequel. Either
way it’s an interesting concept. However with the full scope to imagine
practically any fate of his characters Grieg’s stays fairly close and to
the original and is somewhat cautious in their fate. There are no real
twists to the plot or outcomes that cannot be predicted and it lacks any
devious or extreme characterisations. There are beginnings of such
things but Grieg’s keeps everything safely in check.
The end result is comfortable but dark political
drama rather than a continuum of a chilling tragedy. Siward is played by
Jonny Phillips in true RSC style, a battle weary commander struggling to
control the war of words more use to ruling by force. Siobhan Redmond plays Gruach the mysterious queen
scheming with her feminine guile and beguiling Siward with her seductive
corruption. There is a lot of welcome humour in the chilly
castle with the English soldiers bored and missing home and their women.
Tasked with making an inventory of the castles contents they exchange
bawdy quips about the local women and their prowess. Notable in these is Tom Gill as the boy soldier
who solo narrates the progress of time moving the seasons on as the
English occupation continues. One may wonder if the association to the original
Macbeth was not known whether this play would have received the
attention or acclaim that it has. Whilst it is a fine piece of theatre
writing and is skilfully directed by Roxana Silbert, it fails to excite
you and lacks any immediate shock or awe. It’s beautifully staged by designer Robert Innes
Hopkins and lit by Chahine Yavroyan, even featuring spectacular final
snow scene. However in the end as Siward is reduced to
accepting a fate that is contrary to his wishes and is seen finally
trudging off into the blizzard it was me who was left feeling a little
cold. To 28-09-13 Jeff Grant
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