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Macbeth Exceeds All Expectations

There are some plays that you are going to enjoy -- no matter how many times you've seen them (on stage or screen), how many times you've read them (alone or in a group), how many times you've been in them, and how many times you have taught them. For me, William Shakespeare's Macbeth is one such play. So, I was tickled to learn that PlayMakers Repertory Company would be performing it through Sunday, March 22nd, in UNC-Chapel Hill's Paul Green Theatre. Furthermore, I was overjoyed to learn that PlayMakers Rep's producing artistic director, Vivienne Benesch, would be playing Lady Macbeth. Let the record state that this production, directed by Tracy Bersley, not only met but rather, surpassed all of my expectations.

PlayMakers' March 4-22 production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth stars Vivienne Benesch as Lady Macbeth (photo by HuthPhoto)

The Play:

Set in 11th century Scotland, Macbeth is a play about political ambition and personal conscience. Macbeth is one of King Duncan's thanes and a fiercely capable soldier and leader on the battlefield. Arriving in medias res, we find ourselves on a battlefield where we hear reports of Macbeth's heroics and his fealty to his king. "Brave Macbeth" saved the day, personally defeating a traitor who had led an army against the king and then going on to fight (and defeat) Norwegian invaders, too. The takeaway here is that Macbeth knows how to deal with traitors.

Three Witches (a.k.a. "Weird Sisters") greet Macbeth and Banquo (Macbeth's fellow captain) and insinuate predictions about their futures. According to the Witches, Macbeth will become king, as will Banquo's descendants.

When a lesser prediction comes true (and when facing an apparent impediment), Macbeth seeks a shortcut to his promised future; things go from bad to worse, and the play becomes one about murder and intrigue, about guilt and remorse, about self-damnation, and about revenge.

Beyond that, the issue of manhood is raised and debated. The word "man" is spoken more than 35 times. We hear Macbeth refer to "my single state of man." And we hear such lines as "when you durst do it, then you were a man," "you would be so much more a man," "th'worst rank of mankind," "what man dare, I dare," "I am a man again," "dispute it like a man," and "I must feel it like a man."

And there's the tense exchange when Macbeth indicates that he has changed his mind about carrying out the planned regicide:

MACBETH: I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more is none.
LADY MACBETH: What beast was't, then that made you break this enterprise to me?

As the play moves forward, we see Macbeth destroying his identity as a man, becoming more bestial in every sense of the word, becoming the type of man that he had initially hated, hunted down and killed.

Macbeth stars Ron Menzel as Macbeth and Vivienne Benesch as Lady Macbeth (photo by HuthPhoto)

This Production:

• The dialogue is "fresh" -- that's the best word that I can come up with. The lines are the same, but the delivery is often quite different and refreshingly inventive from any that I have heard or imagined in the past. The same general meaning is always there, but timing, mini-pauses, emphases, accompanying gestures and expressions -- every aspect of delivery -- infuse the lines with complex hints about who and what all of the characters are (on the inside). In addition, choices in line delivery made room for bits of humor, laced in amid the intense scenes.
• The Witches appear much more frequently, and they seem to preside over every scene in which they appear.

Macbeth stars (from left) Jadah Johnson as Witch 2, Jim Bray as Witch 1, and Celeste Pelletier as Witch 3 (photo by HuthPhoto)

The Acting:

As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Ron Menzel and Vivienne Benesch are amazing, showing a wide range of aspects of the couple's relationship, thereby going above and beyond what appears in the text. Both actors play the self-induced deterioration of their characters to the hilt.

Jim Bray, Jadah Johnson, and Celeste Pelletier are phenomenal, portraying the Witches in a unique, very imaginative fashion. Delaney Jackson, as Lady Macduff, earns every bit of the audience's empathy. Jeffrey Blair Cornell has the regal presence required by Duncan and returns to cover the role of Siward. And Nate John Mark's Banquo is clearly a contrast to Macbeth.

Matthew Donahue covers two smaller roles: Sergeant and Murderer 1. But it is as the Porter that he truly shines, taking it to the top but never going over in his single comic-relief scene.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth at PlayMakers Rep stars Reez Bailey (left) as Malcolm and Allen Tedder as Macduff (photo by HuthPhoto)

The Tech:

Scenic designer Alexis Distler pulls out all the stops, infusing meaning into the minutest of details while blending the real with the surreal. Costume designer Olivera Gajic has supplied Lady Macbeth with gorgeous outfits and dressed the others in appropriate attire. Although avoiding the idea of dressing the men in kilts, Gajic makes use of pleats here and there to suggest Scottishness. And the Witches' costumes are works of art.

Lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker creates the dark and eerie moods, sometimes laced with brief flashes. Sound designer and composer Lindsay Jones supplies the mood-setting music that never buries the dialogue. And fight choreographer Dale Girard has made sure that everyone stays safe during the rather realistic battle scenes.

Macbeth at PlayMakers Rep stars Delaney Jackson (left) and Bennett Vick as Lady Macduff and her child (photo by HuthPhoto)

Nice Touches:

• Delivering the curtain speech in rhymed couplets.
• The Witches' fingers.
• The choreographed battle scenes.
• The "score card" on the upstage wall that the Witches update.
• The choice of how to signify that the Witches have disappeared.
• A pair of baby shoes.
• The irony of Macbeth embracing Fleance at crucial moments.
• The ritualistic dumbshow as respect is shown to Duncan's corpse.
• Staging to suggest that it was the Witches who reanimate Banquo's corpse.
• Starting the second act with the thanes and lords "partying."
• The Witches' final appearance.

Memorable Lines:

The play is rife with memorable lines. As stated above, it's these actors' delivery that makes them special.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth at PlayMakers Rep stars Ron Menzel as Macbeth (photo by HuthPhoto)

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

Producing a Shakespeare play always involves some cutting of what appears in the First Folio text. I cannot point to any of my favorite lines that were missing, but I do need to mention that I was disappointed when the stage direction: Enter Macduff with Macbeth's head was not acted out.

The Bottom Line:

This production is definitely unique and well worth seeing, no matter how familiar (or unfamiliar) you might be with the text. The perfectly enunciated speech ensures that nothing ever gets lost.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth at PlayMakers Rep stars Jeffrey Blair Cornell (center) as King Duncan (photo by HuthPhoto)

William Shakespeare's MACBETH (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12-15 and 18-22), directed by Tracy Bersley and starring Ron Menzel as Macbeth, Vivienne Benesch as Lady Macbeth, Allen Tedder as Macduff, Reez Bailey as Malcolm, Nate John Mark as Banquo, Jim Bray as Witch 1, , Jadah Johnson as Witch 2, Celeste Pelletier as Witch 3, Tia James as Ross, Adam Moskowitz as Lennox, Jeffrey Blair Cornell as King Duncan/Siward, Rafael Edgerton as Donaldbain/Young Siward, Mengwe Wapimewah as Gentlewoman/Fleance, Matthew Donahue as Sergeant/Porter/Murderer 1, Dawson Boudreaux as Seyton/Murderer 3, Trevele Morgan as Doctor/Murderer 2/Soldier, Delaney Jackson as Lady Macduff, Bennett Vick as Macduff Child, Bodhi Pruitt as Ensemble/Macduff Child, Laura Westray as Ensemble, and Jayden Peszko as Ensemble (PlayMakers Repertory Company in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC-Chapel Hill's Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art). TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYAm2mD2Alw&t=1s. FEATURETTE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swfxe30goUM&t=2s. PLAYBILL (Desktop Version): https://online.fliphtml5.com/gtelh/Macbeth-Playbill-Jfbf/. PLAYBILL (Mobile Version): https://playmakersrep.org/playbill-for-macbeth/. PRESENTER: https://playmakersrep.org/, https://www.facebook.com/playmakersrep, https://www.instagram.com/playmakersrep/, https://www.tiktok.com/@playmakersrep, https://x.com/playmakersrep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayMakers_Repertory_Company, and https://www.youtube.com/@PlayMakersRepertory. 2025-26 SEASON: https://playmakersrep.org/season/2025-2026/. PRC BLOG: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/our-blog/. VENUE: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/paul-green-theatre and https://unchistory.web.unc.edu/building-narratives/paul-green-theatre/. DIRECTIONS/PARKING: https://playmakersrep.org/visitor-info/directions-and-parking/. MACBETH (Five-Act Tragedy, full title: The Tragedy of Macbeth, written circa 1606-07): https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/, https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/macbeth/, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Macbeth-by-Shakespeare, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth. THE SCRIPT: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/#full-text. STUDY GUIDE (Utah Shakespeare Festival): https://www.bard.org/. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Elizabethan and Jacobean English playwright and poet, 1564-1616): https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/25200, https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-life/, https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeare-biography/, https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/william-shakespeare, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare. SHOW ADVISORY: PlayMakers Rep cautions, "Macbeth contains mature themes and language. Production elements include flashing/strobe lights and lots of haze." For details, click here and scroll down to the CONTENT TRANSPARENCY (SPOILERS AHEAD section. RELATED EVENTS: For details, click here and scroll down to the Special Performances section. NOTE: Arts Access, Inc. of Raleigh will audio-describe and sign-language interpret the show's 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 18th, performance. TICKETS: $20 and up, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-962-7529 or prcboxoffice@unc.edu. PLEASE DONATE TO: PlayMakers Repertory Company. Cyndi Whisnant's Triangle Review Review Permalink.

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