By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes...

The cast of the National Theatre’s Macbeth paid a visit to the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury this week, to strike fear and awe into Canterbury audiences.

This adaptation of the "Scottish play" was set in a post-apocalyptic time, after civil war has ravaged the country, with the Macbeths thrust towards the crown by forces of elemental darkness.

The production said that it was not defined by time or place, rather loosely based within a barbaric world.

The concept of dystopia is a good baseline for the story, as it provides a launch pad for the idea of a power struggle, which is pivotal to Shakespeare's text.

However, I felt that set designer Rae Smith, who also worked on War Horse, does not convey it well. The impression given to the audience was that of disorder, but just with shredded bin bags and black tarpaulin. To me, it didn't go far enough. However, "Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done is done".

I felt Scot Michael Nordone’s Macbeth is just as the titular character should be: first unsure (leaving a gap to let his wife take a leading role), then over-confident, and finally, demented with fear. To play the role effectively, is to strike the right balance between being too confident and overplaying the role.

Kirsty Besterman’s Lady Macbeth, to me, lacked the allure and mystique that the role commands.

A good feature was made of the three sisters (that’s the witches to us mere mortals), who hang ominously from the trees in the final scene where MacDuff slays Macbeth telling of how the supernatural forces play with the lives of regular people.

* The show is on at the Marlowe until Saturday, February 16. To book tickets go to marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.