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	Poole's Cavern Theatre 11-15 Jul, 6:00pm-7:00pm, 7:15pm-8:15pm, 8:30pm-9:30pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Where the place? Below the heath, in this enticing adaptation of Macbeth hosted in Buxton's much-loved show cave. But as we all know, an eye-catching venue doesn't guarantee a memorable piece of theatre; production company Butterfly have work hard to re-cast the Scottish tragedy to its unorthodox location, and in the main, succeed.

At an hour long and with a cast of just eight (three of whom are witches), this was always going to be a trimmed-down version of Shakespeare's script.  What they've cut, they've cut well; the Wyrd Sisters in particular pick up many minor characters' lines, and their resulting continual presence lends a fascinating new dimension to the ensnarement of Macbeth.

In other ways, though, I wish they'd been more ruthless. Clearly feeling pressure to include all the well-known soliloquies, the cast crash through the early scenes like bolting horses, leaving Duncan despatched and Malcolm in England before we've even had the chance to properly straighten out who's who. There's a neat sense of urgency around the murderous deed itself, but overall the play suffers from cramming too much in; we've no time to internalise Macbeth's early angst and, so, feel less the tragedy of his fall.

Ironically, it's as the pace slows down that the excitement picks up. Starting with the appearance of Banquo's ghost, we begin to take on our own roles in the action: as guests at the feast, as witnesses and confessors and, ultimately, as the army marching on Dunsinane.  Moving away from mere tableaux, imaginative staging often sees us pinned between two competing factions, lending a visceral new intimacy to the most familiar scenes.  It's an admirable response to what's actually quite a limiting venue, and it's a shame that there was no room for such intricacy in the cavalry charge through the opening scenes.

It's in the second half, too, that the potential of the innovative location is fully revealed.  Director Aileen Gonsalves makes a couple of inspired choices: Lady Macbeth's "damned spot" moment sees her in a pit, exhibited as though a trapped animal, and the English court is brilliantly relocated to a desolate soldiers' camp.  Greedy man as I am, though, I'd hoped to get a little more from my entombment underground.  Bright lighting throughout means there's little sense of claustrophobia, and only a couple of scenes exploit the cavern's ominous natural echo.

Yet none of these quibbles detract from the most important thing of all: the quality of the acting. Nick Danan's Macbeth is particularly strong - his pensive analysis of his desire and disgrace is hugely powerful, though he should beware of losing the meaning of his words in his search for a striking cadence.  As Lady Macbeth, actor-director Gonsalves finds some new things to say, particularly when the the forces of evil respond almost literally to her demand to "unsex me here".  The final mention, though, must go to the Wyrd Sisters themselves - Caroline Colomei, Hayley Cusick and Sophie Rickman - who strike a perfect chord of malevolent playfulness, whispering continually to the audience as they beat their flighty path through the ruins of Macbeth's once-great honour.