Macbeth review – something wicked this way whizzes as dynamic duo play all the roles

A significant scattering of teenagers attend this show by Out of Chaos, not just because the play is a GCSE staple but also because the touring production trails a reputation for stripping the story to its bare essentials. Staged by Oxford Playhouse’s artistic director Mike Tweddle, this Macbeth was developed with students in mind. Two actors take all the roles in a show that is focused to the point of almost miraculous brevity, coming in at just over 80 minutes.

The actors in question are Hannah Barrie and Paul O’Mahony (artistic director of the Hove-based Out of Chaos) and yes, they are the only people we see on stage, though they do seek infrequent and low-intensity bits of audience interaction.

Straightforwardly blunt devices are used to carve a path through the play’s comings and goings: the actors announce the entrance and exit of every character, and resort to some intricate hopping from one stage mark to another when a bit of back-and-forth dialogue is required. With the stage bare other than a lit back wall (with prominent captioning), some bravura lighting from Ashley Bale, much of it impressively atmospheric, and neat creepy-movie style sound dubs from Matt Eaton, the show makes a little go a very long way.

Effortless … Hannah Barrie and Paul O’Mahony in Out of Chaos’ Macbeth at Oxford Playhouse. Photograph: Alex Brenner

O’Mahony (who plays Macbeth) and Barrie (Lady Macbeth) master the mercilessly pruned playtext. Both are tremendous, as they negotiate the contours of overweening ambition, bloodthirsty carnage and paranoid, nightwalking guilt. Amazingly, both manage to switch effortlessly into the lighter bits, with Barrie doing an amusing drunk porter and O’Mahony a nicely snivelling Ross.

Clarity and narrative are the main drivers. With everything so compressed there are inevitable sacrifices: gloomy gothic grandeur is largely absent (apart from the dry ice that envelops the auditorium at the start) and more expansive shows would no doubt give more in terms of spectacle. There’s no moving forest or spurting gore. Likewise, the weird sisters are pared down to briefly heard disembodied voices (seemingly pre-recorded) that float out of the murk. Some scenes whiz by – you only just register Banquo’s ghost before it’s on to the next one – but with every ounce of fat trimmed you get one 24-carat scene after another in a seemingly endless profusion. It’s like eating the richest steak possible.