This rock and roll version of the Macbeth story provides an excellent night out. Bob Carlton has transferred the story from the royal family of Scotland to the ‘Music Biz’.

All the words are Shakespeare’s but they come from lots of different plays with plenty of updated words – Queenie tries to wash her hands with Swarfega and the recent troubles of Amy of the House of Wine get a mention.

In amongst the words are all your rock and roll favourites so the audience can indulge in quotation spotting as well as wondering how many more songs can be fitted in.

And so many of them do fit – I Put a Spell on You, Nowhere to Run, Shakin’ All Over. If Shakespeare was alive today he wouldn’t be writing for television, he’d be writing songs.

A wonderful run down, spooky set and colourful costumes support the actors in giving terrific performances.

They play a huge range of instruments with gusto, sing their hearts out and create larger than life characters.

Hayley J Langwith provides a huge range of vocal styles as the Lady Macbeth figure and she’s matched by Phillip Reed as the geeky boy who turns into a super star.

Stuart Organ has great fun as the music mogul and Simon Jessop puts in a vivid cameo as the detective on the case.

There’s plenty of humour and a real sense of excitement which left the audience demanding more at the end.

Just the thing to get you out of post-holiday blues.

Alison Wollard

BBC Essex - 29th August 2007