He makes this Shakespearean role look effortless as he murmurs his soliloquies and we hang on his every word. Tennant is a wiry, austere, self-righteous warrior who turns his intelligence into calculating outrage. The headphones allow Tennant and Jumbo to talk in low conspiratorial tones. They moan, giggle and flap crow-like in our ears, bringing an uncomfortable intimacy. They are sinister in their absence, invisibly roaming in the vapour and smoke around the stage, present as a sibilant chorus of whispering voices played by the entire cast – an ingenious way to suggest that they represent the ever-present murderous voice in Macbeth’s head. The witches take the concept a step further and appear in sound rather than form.
We hear the cold clink of metal as Lady Macbeth snatches the daggers with which Macbeth has killed Duncan (Benny Young) to return them to the crime scene. The 3D headphones magnify every creak and whimper. Sound, in Shakespeare’s text, has great disturbing significance.
Coolly creepy … David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Macbeth.