Macbeth (MTC)

Breakneck pace, booming score, brawny brutes and brooding beauties, epic fist fights, graphic headshots, and of course, plenty of 'splosions. This may sound more like an action movie checklist than an evening of Shakespeare, but in the hands of veteran director Simon Phillips, the Bard's cursed Thane and his power-hungry wife get a comprehensively Hollywood makeover, replete with all the cinematic trimmings. And, like any self-respecting movie, this production stars a suitably A-list box office magnet: home-grown action hero Jai Courtney.

Shakespeare's plays could well be called the blockbusters of their day - these were works strategically designed to pack houses. And since cinema is often now considered theatre for the masses, there is some logic in bringing Hollywood influences to bear on a contemporary staging. But there is a limit to how much live theatre can convincingly ape at the screen, and this production is often oversimplified by cinematic shorthand. Like it's leading man, much of this Macbeth looks the part. It's a glossy, visually taut, fleet-footed evening, thanks to an aptly (although not particularly judiciously) brutal edit, compressing the play down to 115 minutes - no interval, movie style. However, looks can only carry this production so far.

Beyond its military bluff and supernatural spookiness, Macbeth is a focused, excoriating study of psychological decay and thus requires an actor able to confidently plumb dark emotional depths. What Courtney dredges up is serviceable and seemingly robust, but ultimately two-dimensional. His performance is one of broad strokes - entire scenes are a block colour of dramatic intention.

In places, this brute force approach offers an intriguingly muscular perspective on Macbeth, as a man sculpted by the do or die brutality of the battlefield, whose approach to power is similarly monochromatic. But largely, this lack of fine detail casts an unflattering light on Courtney's inexperience with the musicality and nuance of verse; merely conveying the superficial meaning of the dialogue betrays the urgent, visceral complexity just below the surface. Is Macbeth a victim of fortune or the architect of his own demise? Is he corrupted by evil, irresistible forces or by the malignancy of his own ambition? These are questions vital to this narrative, but they are given frustratingly short shrift. Phillips' trade-off seems to be in allowing Courtney's physicality greater prominence, but without the benefit of careful cinematography or CGI trickery, one gratuitously long and awkwardly plodding fight sequence in the climactic scene is woefully inadequate compensation.

The rest of the cast fare much better, although the slashed text robs the most experienced performers on stage of much more than passing exposition. Jane Montgomery Griffiths sets the bar high with the sophistication brought to her portrayal of the First Witch, a standard met by Robert Menzies as a sorely underutilised King Duncan, but their relatively fleeting stage time is a reminder of this production's priorities, trading Shakespearian authenticity for narrative momentum.

Among the finest turns of the night, Geraldine Hakewill's Lady Macbeth elegantly negotiates her character's potential for shrewish caricature with a steely calm that still reveals a subtle glimpse of vulnerability. From the outset, it's clear that the "direst cruelty" she pleads for in her opening soliloquy never truly silences the gnawing, subconscious voice of dread. Her ultimate fate, driven mad by her bloody misadventure, is a bleak inevitability that prompts an unexpected level of pity.

The chance to see an impressive line-up of young Australian talent — some making their MTC debuts in this high-profile show — is arguably the most exciting aspect of this staging. Kevin Hofbauer brings confidence and a nimble ease to his Banquo, while Tom Hobbs perfectly pitches the conflicted Malcolm as he attempts to free Scotland from a tyrant's grasp. Dan Spielman's Macduff is wrought and raging as his grief at the murder of his family is skillfully channeled to the task of avenging their deaths. 

It's thanks to these performances that this production — for the most part — works. Phillips is a consummate pro who knows well how to conjure an entertaining spectacle, and in this respect, his Macbeth hits its target. But on a more essential level, it's also saddled with a non-committal subtext. His pedigree with Shakespeare is a smoking gun: his Richard III for MTC in 2010 took aim at George Bush's Presidency and before that, his '90s staging of Julius Caesar drew inspiration from the ignominious (but far less stabby) end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as British Prime Minister. There are similar nods to the political in this Macbeth, most notably in the opening scene which sees the weird sisters set off a bomb hidden in a backpack at a bus stop. But the inference that this malevolent coven may, in fact, be an extremist cell is quickly abandoned. It seems likely that last minute alterations have been made to this vision in light of recent terrorist events in the UK, and that is, of course, a valid and sensitive decision. But without a more cerebral undertow to galvanise this production, the heavy lifting is left up to Courtney, and while he might have the physique for it, he unfortunately doesn't have the craft.

Melbourne Theatre Company presents Macbeth till July 15 at the Southbank Theatre