Review: BakerShake shines, falters in directing

By Hugo Gerbich-Pais     3/11/25 10:51pm

Review: ★★★

BakerShake’s 2025 production of "Macbeth" saw impressive acting but lackluster directing. Performed in Baker Commons on March 6, 7 and 8, the cast of Macbeth were undermined by artistic decisions which made the show harder to perform. 

Despite these challenges, several characters gave noteworthy performances. Macbeth himself played the role exquisitely. I was particularly impressed by the ease in which the actor traced the character's moods, offering us detached and melancholic performances followed by moments of intense terror and anxiety. 

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Macbeth's relationship with his wife Lady Macbeth was underwhelming, however. It felt emotionally distant, which was perhaps epitomised by an egregiously unnatural and stiff hug on stage. Lady Macbeth's performance grew on me as the show developed, particularly her sleepwalking scene in Act V, where her performance was tenacious yet not hyperbolic. 

The hamartia in this tragedy was the decision to set the play in the round, with an audience on all four sides of the stage. Already struggling with Shakespeare's complex and unwieldy prose, the cast also had to try to engage an audience that was to their sides and back. Unless they were delivered facing you, lines were sometimes inaudible, and we were deprived of the facial expressions which allow a contemporary audience to parse Shakespeare. 

Both of the actors playing Macbeth and Malcolm impressed through their capacity to maintain Shakespeare's iambic pentameter. Malcolm's strong rhythm commanded the audience's attention and he conveyed the sorrow and grief that mars their character superbly through an energetic physicality. 

Macduff delivered his lines in a dignified and regal tone, which felt appropriate considering he is a heroic figure in the play. The Witches also gave a great performance – unsettling the audience not only through their ghoulish line delivery, but also through their odd and uncomfortable stage movements. 

A puzzling creative choice came in the form of setting the play within a corporate environment – the play's program seems to suggest a stock market specifically. King Duncan and later Macbeth occupy a large desk rather than throne, and the cast wear business professional attire. Nothing else was changed to ground the play in this new reality, and the visual cues were too subtle and too easily missed. The result was a play that lacked a clear artistic vision. 

Halfway through the play for example, a gun makes an appearance, alongside the knives already in use. It is not clear why, and there is literally a moment where someone brings a knife out in a gunfight. This is obviously minor, but indicative of a pattern of random decisions. Another was the decision to dress the cast in rain ponchos during the witches' procession – was it supposed to be raining?

Another curious decision was to play music in between every scene. It ranged from the Smiths to Depeche Mode, and added nothing to the show. In fact, it detracted, distracting the audience and reminding them of the unresolved questions around setting and place. 

One redeeming aspect of the play's direction came in the various fight scenes that take place. They were dynamic and used the entirety of the stage, engaging the whole audience. Perhaps most importantly, they were convincing, and it really did seem like physical contact was being made between the actors. 

BakerShakes 2025 rendition of Macbeth was tragic. Its actors gave passionate and commendable performances. They showed deep knowledge of their characters' motivations, fears and desires. Yet they were undermined by a creative vision that made their job harder, and distracted the audience. 

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