Thrice: The King Is Dead, 9 Witches Summon A Striking Storm (Theatre review) 4 Stars ****

Thrice begins where William Shakespeare’s Macbeth ends. As king, Macbeth is dead and the three witches who prophesied his rise and demise are here, trebled into nine performers as they take their prompting from Act 1, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s tragic masterpiece when they chant:

Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.

Then holding hands to circle nine times to cast a spell and summon a storm before the first arrival on Macbeth and Banquo, upon the heath where they meet, here they physically respond to the tragic aftermath of his death. 

With Thrice, Glasgow based physical theatrician Al Seed has created alongside their collaborator, Paris based Judith Milligan, storyboarding which uses Macbeth as the framework in voice and chant to show the aftereffects of their collective trauma.

Choreographed beautifully by Australian Lina Limosani, Thrice uses movement within a visually striking set designed by Seed to provide a discordant backdrop to a time of true chaos – contemporary relevance is deliberate, where the natural material used in the set chimes with the natural environment under threat now as we seek to debate the semantics of a climate emergency rather than face the chaos of a world burning up and sweeping away land with water in front of us.  

Dressed in shades of grey, the nine performers move through a variety of collective movement pieces as an ensemble, individually and apart. Combined with that movement, text from Macbeth is used breathlessly, chorally, and in voiceover to give oral texture and complexity to the piece. That physicality combined with the text from Macbeth frames their performance, breathing new life into the meaning of the words and phrases chosen – these are phrases in Macbeth spoken by warmongerers, here spoken by women distraught and suffering . 

Shakespeare’s text therefore gives strength and context which heightens the effectiveness of the piece. Connecting to events that precede them, from the words of tyrants and soldiers now absorbed by the witches, they turn from declamations to observations and incantations. 

The performances are clever and coherent – some sections are striking. In particular the use of the metal crown which is unfurled to become a banner behind which all nine line up to follow works well. It is reminiscent of other banners unfurled for people to follow without thought thus making it contemporary, whether it be people rallying to causes with flags at their front to legitimise their opinions of asylum seekers, the war in Gaza or the recent placing of flags on lampposts to claim territory across urban areas or the rise in football terraces of giant Tifos – we all like a cause to follow. 

The set interacts beautifully with the lighting. It’s striking, visually stunning. The text along with that natural looking craftwork of the set – wood, earth exploding out of a cauldron – hints at Act 2 Scene 3 of Macbeth when the unnatural day becomes night, an owl attacking a falcon and the odd behaviour of Duncan’s horses – has now passed. The performers use the set to complete a cairn, turning it into a cauldron connecting these witches to those in the beginning of Shakespeare’s play.

Thrice adds another layer of creativity to the context of the story which enthralled, encapsulated and engaged the audience in a very full Tramway. It is visually stunning with movement that matched, and brought elements of Macbeth into a room where his name was never once mentioned, but the aftermath of his death is there for all to see on stage.

Thrice’s Autumn Tour includes Dundee Rep on 21st  October and then Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh on Friday the 23rd and Saturday 14th November.