First reviewed in June last year when Mr & Mrs Macbeth of Dodson Valley Road opened in Nelson, this play was the debut production of the Professional Theatre Company there.

Back to 2024 Ōtautahi Christchurch at The Court Theatre, and the Macbeth’s have moved and are now living in Heathcote Valley Road.

They may have a new address, but the story is the same. Jo and Tom Macbeth are on a national tour of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Jo plays Lady Macbeth and Tom’s had been playing the title role for years, but on this occasion, with his “star slightly waning”, a younger, more handsome and bankable bloke has taken the lead. You know the type – been on all the reality TV shows and has a gazillion followers on Insta and TikTok. His name is Ian but pronounced Iron and Tom, who’s been relegated to understudy, despises him.

The play is set in the Macbeth’s dressing room, within a metal light frame lined by led strips; a minimal and effective design from Mark McEntyre. It’s about 30 minutes from curtain up on Macbeth, the play. Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road is about that lead-up and the play getting underway. I’m not going to give away what happens because, to be frank, it’s a good story and I don’t want to spoil it.

And it’s a story I’d describe as familiar and absorbing, delivered in a well-crafted way by consummate professionals. I use the word ‘familiar’ because anyone who’s been married for 20-plus years will see themselves and their relationship in Jo and Tom Macbeth. They fight, they hurt – emotionally and physically; even after 30 years they learn new things about themselves and each other. But it doesn’t get too heavy. In fact, that’s what I really enjoy about it – the pace is perfect to see and hear, reflect, think, and then things move forward.

The script is smart and clever without trying too hard. The layering of the Macbeth’s relationship with Macbeth by Shakespeare, and the staging of it within this production, seems almost effortless. Which is good. Anytime you are pulled from what you are watching because your brain is telling you ‘that was clever’ or ‘wow, nice writing’, then it’s trying too hard. That doesn’t happen here.

It is a pleasure to watch Hadlow back on The Court stage again, particularly in the scenes where his physical comedy ability really shines. He doesn’t cross into farce and his timing is always spot on. Macgregor is no slouch in that area either, and the different shades of anger, bitchiness and empathy she shows in Jo Macbeth are absorbing to watch.

And it’s funny – really funny. The second half speeds along with both actors using the numerous opportunities Gregory Cooper’s script gives them to bounce off one another, and the audience loves it.

Finally, the volume of the music could be turned down a notch or two in places, as I felt it overwhelmed the actors at times, often during pivotal Macbeth storytelling moments.

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