The Brattle Theatre has come heartbreakingly close to putting out a truly great production of "Macbeth." They have missed it not through any deficiency in acting--Ruth Ford and William Devlin are probably the finest actors ever seen on the Brattle stage--but through some unperceptive directing which has taken fantastic liberties with Shakespeare.
Director Albert Marre has given about as weird an interpretation of the Weird Sisters as has ever been devised. The witches go through enough earthy comedy to preclude them from being "Fates," while they appear so often in such strange places as to make it impossible to believe that they are the mere psychological manifestations of Macbeth's character. They cavort with the drunken porter, dive into secret trap-doors in the stage, finish the play with an incantation which was never written by Shakespeare (or if it was, is ordinarily wisely omitted), and generally make such a nuisance of themselves as to confuse the main character study. Marre has also seen fit to cut Macbeth's first meeting with Duncan from the play, a meeting which alone reveals the innate courage of Macbeth's character.
These vagaries are more irritating since they detract from what is essentially an inspiring production. Ruth Ford's Lady Macbeth is superb. She is not the Amazonian Lady Macbeth of brute strength and indomitable will; her strength seems to be drawn from an immense source of nervous energy. This, joined with her sensitivity and fragile beauty, makes it seem impossible that she should last as long as she does under the same strain of guilt which overcomes Macbeth. The sleep-walking scene, when the sham is gone and there is nothing left but the subconscious, is the finest moment of the play.
William Devlin's interpretation of the character of Macbeth is fully integrated with that of Lady Macbeth so the full force of the contrast between them is clear. Where Lady Macbeth's sense of guilt drives her to madness, that of Macbeth drives him to a hardness which is actually insensitivity. Macbeth, however, beset by his images, must draw upon the calmness of his wife. Devlin perfectly portrays his frenzied state as evil overcomes him and he can see that he will never have peace.
The Brattle's stock supporting cast is adequate, but suffers in comparison with Devlin and Miss Ford. The one exception is Paul Sparer as Macduff, who alone makes the tragedies of the just seem pathetic as those of the wicked.
Robert O'Hearn's stage settings are modernistic in their simplicity and most effective when combined with some very unusual lighting effects. The costumes, except for those of the Weird Sisters which are completely incomprehensible, were not elaborate, but in keeping with the simplicity of the production.
