MacBeth

I heartily recommend this version of MacBeth which appeared recently on PBS' "Great Performances"! Patrick Stewart was excellent in the title roll - better than I've ever seen him. In fact, all the performances were excellent, especially the three witches and Kate Fleetwood as Lady MacBeth. The production, which originated in Stratford and moved to Broadway, is in modern dress, and takes place in an authoritarian, eastern Europe-type state and is mostly shot in a cramped, claustrophobic concrete hell - what looks like an abandoned factory or prison. At times, it takes on the ambiance of a horror story what with its witches and cruelty and blood and overall feeling of enclosing gloom and fear. Very inventive! (It's coming out on DVD on January 11, 2011.)