Macbeth review Hull Truck

Hull Truck Theatre, Tuesday Feb 10th

Director: Mark Babych

Review by Chris Martin

WOW!

That has to be my first comment on this absolutely breathtaking performance; from start to finish, I was utterly enthralled. The story is well known to most: Shakespeare’s “Scottish play”. A brutal and tragic tale of ambition, betrayal, and guilt-driven madness

For me, the magic of this adaptation lies in the cast’s ability to make the audience actually care about Shakespeare’s characters, making them into real people more relatable to a 21st-century audience.

Early in the play, we get a true sense of the camaraderie between the warriors Macbeth (Oliver Alvin-Wilson) and Banquo (Daniel Poyser) making Macbeth’s murderous betrayal of his friend and comrade all the more bitter. When Macduff (Simon Trinder) delivers his speech, on hearing of the murder of his wife and children on the orders of Macbeth, his anguish mixed with his hunger for revenge feels physical to the audience.

Cayvan Coates and Benjamin Wilson

Lady Macbeth’s (Jo Mousley) all-consuming ambition, devious and coldly uncaring of consequence, and her subsequent descent into remorseful madness was fabulously portrayed, leaving me wanting to feel pity for her yet unable to.

The play is set in more modern times, with the “warriors” in tactical camouflage gear with modern weapons. The deceptively simple scenery, lighting, and music add atmospheric mood to the industrial look of the backdrop.

The Weird Sisters or Three Witches (Josie Morley, Livie Dalee and Deb Pugh) in their post-apocalyptic goth garb were unsettlingly… creepy, a feel wonderfully emphasised by their strange spiderlike movements and haunting delivery.

Oliver Alvin-Wilson and Daniel Poyser

Banquo’s return in his ghostly form was still a shock, regardless of the fact that we knew it was coming! Such was the air of tension built throughout the performance.

This is a fabulous play; treat your self... get down to Hull Truck and experience a wonderful night of theatre.

Benjamin Wilson, Jo Mousley, Oliver Alvin-Wilson and Josie Morley

Livie Dalee, Deborah Pugh and Josie Morley

Daniel Poyser

ISSUE 219 February 2026