Macbeth at The Royal Highland Centre Edinburgh

This is an experience not to be missed!

From the war zone you have to walk through, with bombs exploding and the sound of low-flying jets overhead, to an ending which will have you jumping out of your seat, this is a modern-day Macbeth as you've never seen it before.

Forget that it is being staged in what is basically a hanger in the middle of nowhere, except for Edinburgh Airport (whose planes only add to the sound effects). For this production it is custom-built to give you a taste of what it must be like to be amid the conflicts in the world today.

Adding to this, Ralph Fiennes, in the title role, carries with him an air of despondency, battle-weary and bent, and his affecting performance will stay with you long after you've returned to civilisation.

As soon as I heard Fiennes was coming to Edinburgh I bought a ticket without even going through the usual channels of seeing if I could get a press ticket.

However, I had my doubts about seeing a production at The Royal Highland Centre. Should I take a blanket; hot soup? I went well-wrapped up, but for those who haven't yet experienced an indoor event there, don't worry. Once through the doors, the 'bar' was toasty, and I shed my coat until after the interval. Plus, although it is a big venue, we were all fairly close to the stage and getting in and out was remarkably easy.

And so to the main event: Having found our way through the rubble, burnt-out cars, and soldiers in battledress, we come upon the stage which is stark in comparison, lead-grey and dour, and as we take our seats the sound of deep sighs and heavy breathing pervade the air – heralding the arrival of the 'weird sisters' whose chanting of 'When shall we three meet again', sounds like they aren't expecting to survive the war.

Fiennes' entrance adds a heaviness to the grey set. His brooding presence and his halting, almost monotone delivery is in sharp contrast to Indira Varma's engaging and vivacious Lady Macbeth. They are like chalk and cheese, ying and yang, and yet they blend perfectly together.

They are admirably supported by a fairly large cast including Steffan Rhodri who offers some light relief as a jovial Banquo – until he appears as his ghost, that is, while Michael Hodgson and Jake Neads also made an impression as his beanie-hatted murderers.

But it is Fiennes and Varma who are the shining stars of this Shakespeare tale of treachery, betrayal, murder and superstition,

It was well worth the journey out to the Highland Centre, and the price of my ticket!

Image: Marc Brenner

Macbeth is at The Royal Highland Centre Edinburgh until January 27.

macbeththeshow.com