Macbeth
Lantern Theater Company
923 Ludlow Street
Philadelphia
Dec. 5, 2025
Showing through Dec. 7: Grab tickets here for the final weekend!
In the lobby of Lantern Theater Company, there is a map of sights and scenes to give some context to the landscape of Shakespeare’s Scottish play, Macbeth. There is also a poll asking audience members what motives would cause them to abandon their own morals. With 37 votes, love won in a landslide, followed by reputation, power, and wealth (in that order).
The play, Macbeth, revolves around this question: the titular character, Macbeth, murders the King of Scotland in order to take the throne himself. Ambition is all it takes for the protagonist to transgress the law. Once he crosses that line, there is no turning back; we see him become a tyrannical ruler driven by paranoia and violence rather than love and duty.
The director’s own motivations for putting on an old story like Macbeth were made clear over the show's run time: The goal was not to modernize or alter the script in order to draw out themes like political instability or problematic masculinity, but to show off a love of craft by delivering a theatrically detailed production of a traditional Shakespearean tragedy.
While that love of craft is what made an arguably over the hill play sing so strongly on stage, a lack of affectionate attention and real interest from the audience seemed to, ironically, get in the way of the production's landing. The write-in option to the lobby poll regarding what it would take to make us cross ethical boundaries previewed the range of audience member mindsets: “A chance to save democracy,” “hot chocolate chip cookie,” and “my dog, Luna,” were a few examples.
When I entered the theater, most of the audience was already settled in. Struggling to find my assigned seat, I asked some people what row they were in and was met with surprisingly steely gazes from overly serious patrons. After haggling with my neighbors, they agreed to let me pass.
The costuming of Lady Macbeth was phenomenal. It emphasized what wealth and status would have meant practically in her day and age. As she rose in status, we saw her dress elevate in extravagance. What was at first a simple and elegant silhouette of purple slowly enhanced through the story by taking on additional, structured layers of skirt. Later, an ornate shawl was donned, held together by an intricate silver broach. The only time we witnessed her without such dressings was during the nights, when she sleepwalks in a plain white gown, incessantly attempting to wash the blood from her stained mind. In those moments, she was no longer adorned with the delights that murder bought.
The lighting design also brought new ideas to familiar scenes. Macbeth’s mad visions were delivered to him in a concentrated spotlight; while the rest of the stage was lit by purple hues — the show's chosen shade for symbolizing indulgent greed — Macbeth's face shone bright yellow. These bright, revelatory scenes contrasted with the dimly lit nights that also define the story, enlivening the strange, fevered states that drive Macbeth's actions as well as the dark, brooding moments of guilt that complete the play's psychology.
After intermission, there was an immediate drop into darkness meant to immerse us in the inner world of Macbeth. This sensory reset was interrupted by patrons squeezing out the last few drops of recess on their iPhones. Their faces reflected blue light back to me, pulling focus away from the stage, breaking up the epic storyline and shattering the power and intention of intermission itself. As the show continued, I tried to focus in on the subtle drama of the staging and the drive of the actors, but the loud snoring of a couple behind me drove me to distraction.
While the cast and crew of Macbeth made clear that love is what should motivate us all to show up and give a shit, the audience around me did not seem to return that care. Iconic monologues and comedic scenes elicited some excitement from my fellow onlookers, but I wished that same aliveness (wakefulness) could have been harnessed from the audience to help power the thoughtful, on-stage precision that made the play worth attending.
