By Joy Watters, at Dundee Rep

HIS PRODUCTIONS of The Winter’s Tale and Twelfth Night were acclaimed both here and abroad and now Dundee Rep artistic director Dominic Hill returns to the Bard for the opening of the autumn season.

Audiences have come to expect more and more from Hill, however on this occasion, it is only in the latter stages of the work that it comes into its own. It is very much, that old cliche, a play of two halves.

The second part of this modern dress adaptation begins with the Macbeths as a contemporary presidential couple, revelling in their power before an applauding crowd.

Only at this point does the work begin to really get a grip and inform not only what is to follow but also what has gone before.

Some tremendous staging makes the most of the 15-strong cast.

The production has a fantastically doom-laden atmosphere from the outset with dark shadows set amidst a darker world and a soundscape which presages the death and destruction to follow.

The contributions from designers Anthony Lamble and Jeanine Davies and composer Anthea Haddow, excellent as they are, can only achieve so much.

The witches contribute to the malevolent atmosphere but after the opening the production proceeds in an unengaging fashion.

It is only when John Buick as the drunken porter comes on that the piece briefly flares into life, due to the strength of his comic acting and because he is connecting with the audience.

The directorial vision only gels in the second half as Hill shows the kind of interpretation and original thinking that has placed him in the forefront of Scottish theatre.

The somewhat pedestrian piece begins to show its sinews.

Paul Blair as Macbeth shows the frightening bloodlust of a man bent on destroying whatever gets in his way.

Initially he is somewhat bloodless—verging on the anonymous—and is the unknown usurper springing from the ranks to take all by surprise.

Irene Macdougall as Lady Macbeth pitches her performance at much the same level throughout.

As a result, the various aspects of the character, the questions about her motives are never really addressed.

There is little to affect since the disintegration of her mind is handled in much the same manner.

Keith Fleming gives a powerful reading of Macduff while Thane Bettany is a charmingly regal Duncan.

Macbeth runs until September 25.