Don’t Say Macbeth continues at Zoo Playground, Edinburgh until 28 August 2022 (15-16, 18-23, 25-28).
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
This is an hour of nonsense, but it’s top drawer nonsense from a couple of writers, Sam Woof and Màth Roberts, who know exactly what they’re doing with a showtune.
Don’t Say Macb – I won’t say it – centres round the catastrophic final rehearsals of Double Bubble – a prequal to Macb – no, I’m not going to – where we find out why the weird sisters put a curse on… the lead character of the Scottish Play.
With just enough mini quotations from dozens of musicals that make you wonder if that was a bit of the tune you thought it was, combined with some glorious original compositions, we’re in the world of total farce. If it can go wrong, it will go wrong, and it does, mostly because the dim character Mati, actually says Macb – no, you won’t catch me out.
The humour is undergrad and silly – in the best possible way – but it’s underpinned by some very clever writing. There’s a hint of “Who’s on first” with “which one/witch one” word play, but the hints are never more than that. Woof is too smart a writer to rely on anyone else’s work for his laughs.
This joyful romp all comes together in the finale that Roberts’ desperately love-struck character Matty has been struggling to compose all through the play; and it’s deliciously complex, proving that this farcical company of no-talent performers are, in fact, very talented indeed.
Steven Wren
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