Macbeth at the Globe

Grabbed what was almost the last chance to see Macbeth at The Globe. This was a bog standard Globe production (excellent leads, less sure minor parts) but the play is so powerful in and of itself it didn't need much help. It's the play I know best and for much of it I was mouthing along with the actors. My one lacunae is the important scene between Malcolm and MacDuff before the final denouement. The play and its scenes are endlessly interesting and having read the programme beforehand I picked up on the bird references and the exploration of a marriage that the play includes. Shakespeare's skills with words and in presenting characters with real depth is phenomenal. I felt like I knew Macbeth better than ever. There seemed to be a lot of German young people among the groundlings, some were a little chatty but not so as to spoil the evening. What I was more ambivalent about was the crowd's eagerness to laugh. The porter scene is the only funny one in it although some lines were delivered to comic effect. Probably just me. I noticed that the funniest line in the play (when MacDuff's son says Mother he has killed me) was quietly dropped. So great stuff again at the Globe.