TheatreMacbeth

That surely explains the absolute command of Samantha Spiro as Lady Macbeth in this go-round, opposite the hirsute Joseph Millson in the title role. Mr. Millson has presence to spare and there is no doubt on this occasion that this Scottish ruler is also a military man par excellence: Today, the crown, tomorrow, a superhero movie franchise. NY Times

Joseph Millson does a great job in the title role, his Macbeth’s fiery temper increasing the drama and sense of instability. Clearly at home in the Globe – like many of the cast, Millson’s direct addresses to the crowd create a sense of startling immediacy. The London Magazine

Spiro, often known for her award winning roles in musicals makes a feisty, hard-nosed companion to Joseph Millson’s unusually dashing Macbeth in this latest revival at Shakespeare’s Globe... ...Millson is at his best in moments of reflection whilst Spiro is surprisingly moving in her `washing hands’ scene. The charting of the collapse of this partnership, torn apart by collusion in murder however is the production’s most abiding success. London Grip

Here at the Globe in London, it’s Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro starring in Eve Best’s utterly absorbing, unusually amusing staging, which shows us a loving couple whose souls blacken as marriage frays... ...Millson is remarkable: clubbable, capricious, enjoyably sarcastic, frenzied, but always emotionally legible. They give performances to relish of clarity and intimacy... ...This journey to the dark side has rarely been so refreshing. The Times

Joseph Millson is faced with the daunting challenge of portraying Macbeth, and he does so superbly. He delves into Macbeth, exposing many different layers of the character including a slightly humorous side which was interesting to see. West End Frame

Millson – heavily bearded, dark and brooding – acquits himself forcefully, with a restless physicality. Metro

There are moments when the production comes close to slapstick but it is saved by sensitive performances and Olly Fox’s stirring period score, which is played by musicians on the balcony. Joseph Millson is a captivating, swarthy Macbeth and Samantha Spiro brings a steely composure to the part of his bullying wife, barking orders and insults with relish... Financial Times

For a start, this is one of the most enjoyable Macbeths you’ll ever see. Counter-intuitively, Best plays it for laughs, yet manages to maintain the Globe-friendly air of levity without sacrificing any of the dramatic tension needed to strike at the play’s dark emotional core. How does she do this? One of the most interesting aspects of her interpretation is to emphasise the sense of unreality that grips Joseph Millson’s Macbeth when he first encounters the witches. Theatre News Online

Joseph Millson, easily commanding with his mellifluous voice, is mellow-toned but – watch the amount he paces around the stage – always on the brink. When things start to go wrong, you see the couple being driven apart, as couples are by unhappiness. Macbeth grabs his wife by the throat. The Guardian

Against the backdrop of a white stockade, Joseph Millson’s Macbeth and Samantha Spiro’s Lady Macbeth seem unusually innocent at first. Returning from the battlefield with a leather satchel slung over his jerkin, Millson’s tall, slim Macbeth (with an English accent) looks timid and youthful... ...In shunning obvious Gothic malignity, the production is mildly refreshing. Millson excels at combining clear logic and frenzied anxiety in his vacillating soliloquies. The Independent

But this is a fresh, intelligent examination of Shakespeare’s awkward, uneven script and should divide opinion strongly. The Telegraph

As the eponymous lead, the handsomely bearded Joseph Millson offers us a portrait of a jocular soldier made mad by ambition and paranoia. Initially this Macbeth stands in respectful awe of King Duncan; clearly in love with his wife; happily joking around with Banquo: one terrible decision later, and everything starts to unravel. As he charms nameless thugs into assassinating his friend, we’re given a tantalising glimpse of the charismatic, eloquent King Macbeth might’ve been... ...It’s surprising to see Banquo’s ghost scene played almost entirely for laughs (Millson channels Basil Fawlty in his mania, peering under the tablecloth for spooks); instead Macbeth’s real moment of horror comes later, spurred by the death of his wife. Standing downstage, Millson’s delivery of the “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy is a chilling, whispered epiphany. You really do feel for him, life has become “but a walking shadow”. The Londonist.

Samantha Spiro as Lady Macbeth and Joseph Millson as Macbeth give a rousing, frenetic portrait of a power-couple with a compulsion for bloodshed... ...Millson’s constant disbelief at what he is doing is a source of much of the production’s humour. But because he performs with such conviction, cumulatively it also packs a horrific punch – not least when he makes grasp for his wife’s throat... ...one of the warmest productions of ‘Macbeth’ you’ll ever see, but one which still strikes the requisite chill to the heart. Time Out

Millson does however deliver the famous “sound and fury” speech with a quiet desperation and indeed it is in the play’s quieter moments when he is given the chance to stand still that he really shines. The Upcoming

Joseph Millson’s Macbeth is as ruthless as they come, transformed from a nervous, incompetent wreck to an egomaniacal tyrant in one swift deadly swipe of a dagger. But, when faced with the ghost of Banquo, horror makes way for comedy as his psychotic demeanour turns mere fool and he peaks under tablecloths and jumps on tables with fear. For all the unexpected lightness, however, brutality still reigns in Best’s take on the Scottish play. Samantha Spiro and Millson excel as the power-hungry couple, with a physical performance that sees kisses turn to punches in the heat of a second. Official London Theatre

Millsom is handsome, lucid and extraordinarily well spoken, particularly in comparison with his gruff nemesis Macduff played by Stuart Bowman, who has previously been in Rab C Nesbitt and Taggart on television and talks like he still is. He gives an intelligent Macbeth but it’s a problem if he ends up looking like the best king available. Daily Express

Joseph Millson makes a striking and imposing Macbeth. Slender and tall with black hair and a black beard, which lends a darker note to the character, he is totally convincing as a fighting man, especially as he has two lethal-looking axes dangling from his belt. Violence seems engrained in his nature - at one point, he even looks as though he is about to throttle his wife. And there's more than a hint in Mr Millson's finely-crafted description that Macbeth is, even at the start of the play, a man with more than a glimmer of the manic about him, or that he is at the very least psychologically fragile. London Theatre

Spiro’s is a haunted and haunting performance, a very human take on the character, a woman spiralling. The relationship between her and Joseph Millson’s Macbeth is intense but somehow familiar, a volatile, believable union. He is a concentrated Macbeth, a man contained, and yet also a very physical presence... ...Millson and Spiro are often compelling... The Stage

Millson brings a real physicality to Macbeth, sometimes at the cost of showing us his inner turmoil – his “mad” scene, for example, switches too readily from his fear at seeing Billy Boyd's Banquo to throwaway lines for the audience's amusement - but his “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech, delivered downstage almost among the rapt audience, was heart-stoppingly moving. The Arts Desk

Along his way to dusty death, Macbeth delivers a series of soliloquies with great naturalism, often walking around as he does so, although for "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" he holds his ground and slows speech almost to a deeply meaningful standstill. British Theatre Guide

Joseph Millson plays the title role. He has a brooding, handsome physicality — the air of a man who could throttle an adversary (or his wife). He captures Macbeth’s psychological unravelling, and is at his strongest in his moments of quiet introspection rather than when prowling the stage wildly. Evening Standard

...miraculously, the play worked its dark incantatory spell. The chief reason for this was the superb fresh-minted performances of Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro as the Macbeths. Joseph Millson’s Thane is a big hunk of handsome beefcake, while his wife is short and plump and clearly has the upper hand in a relationship that is both loving and sexually fulfilled – at least at first... Both Spiro and Millson are superb at catching the jumpy tension of the murder, and then showing how the balance of power shifts from Lady Macbeth (who cracks up under the strain) and Macbeth (who learns that the more you kill, the less you feel). There’s an astonishing moment when he actually puts his hands round his wife’s neck and seems on the point of killing her, along with all his other victims. And he beautifully captures the poetry of the last act, in which he recognises he has rendered his own existence meaningless in some of the most desolate and beautiful language that even Shakespeare ever wrote. The Telegraph.

...when he stood on the forestage and delivered the "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech with rapt quietness that I felt this was a Macbeth with a rich interior life. The Guardian