This well-crafted, lively, interactive, fun family show promises to have young children enchanted from the beginning to the end as they become ‘Apprentice Guardians' to help the cast learn from their past.
Rough Magic cleverly introduces little ones to the world of Shakespeare by weaving in themes of his work, including magic and the supernatural.
The audience enters the auditorium of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and become ‘Apprentice Guardians' to the three witches from Macbeth– Witch Morai Atropos (Janet Etuk), Witch Audeja (Bryony Twydle), and Novice Witch Nona (Rosemarie Akwafo).
In the original play Macbeth receives a prophecy from the witches that he will become King of Scotland and with that information, he sets himself on a path to speeding everything up. Rough Magic is set some time after the ‘Macbeth incident', as it is referred to in this play, and highlights the difficulties and challenges witches have of being guardians to humans.
Helping humans is no mean feat and we're introduced to the different departments at work – Fairy Department, Ghost Department, Spirit Department, and the Witch Department. It's the latter which is in charge of the ‘Book of Destiny' which guides the witches to support human destinies. But even they are prone to mistakes, and the overwhelming message and moral of this performance is not the mistake(s) itself, but what you do about it/them, which feels fitting as a seed to sow in the minds of young children.
While the bickering of Witch Nona and her aunts, Witch Morai and Witch Audeja, are extremely entertaining, it's the performance of villain character Henry IX (Kerry Frampton) who really steals the show with a boisterous stage presence that captivates the audience to both love and hate him at the same time.
The show is magically enchanting and full of audience interaction throughout, including reciting spells and sing-a-longs, adding an extra layer of charm, fun and surprise for all.
Rough Magic has returned by popular demand to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse following success last summer as well as a nomination for Best Family Show at the 2025 Olivier Awards.
This is the second full-scale family show from the Shakespeare Globe's Education and Theatre departments with Splendid Productions, following the first venture, Midsummer Mechanicals, and it doesn't disappoint.
The only criticism is the copious number of times the phrase ‘shut up' is used in the latter half of the show by Henry IX, which felt surprising and at odds, given the very young age of the audience. Although it's done in jest, the repetitiveness of its use felt uncomfortable to hear as it became more and more raucous, so perhaps a more family-friendly way might sound better. While the show is aimed for all, it feels like the target audience is more for those aged between about five and 10 - however, like art, theatre is also subjective, so you decide.
Rough Magic is perfectly timed for the summer holiday school break and is running until 23 August.
Review: Sunita Jaswal Photo: Manuel Harlan