Though Nicol Williamson performs outstandingly in quite a few scenes, his overall performance is somewhat uneven. Much of the time he delivers his lines with brio or with subtle astuteness, but he occasionally comes across as disengaged and bored. Especially disappointing is his delivery of the great "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy. It is indeed, the worst rendition that I have ever beheld. Perhaps Williamson was seeking to convey Macbeth's ennui through his lackluster recitation of the soliloquy, but it falls badly flat.
Jane Lapotaire is excellent in her opening scene and in her final scene, but somewhat less impressive in the intervening scenes (especially in the scene with Banquo's ghost). She pretty badly misjudges a few of her lines, and she is too highstrung. Still, her overall performance is at a high level.
Tony Doyle is generally excellent as Macduff, and James Hazeldine is quite good in the difficult role of Malcolm. James Bolam is considerably less entertaining as the porter in this production than as Touchstone in "As You Like It" (though the fault may lie with Shakespeare more than with the actor).
Most of the other performances are pretty good, though there are quite a few other instances of misjudged renderings of lines. The sets and lighting are fine, and the production is to be commended for including most of the text. (The spurious III.v and the spurious bits of IV.i are of course omitted, as is the paean to Edward the Confessor in V.iii. Only a handful of other lines are omitted -- though I should note that all of those remaining omissions are gratuitous.) There are some pointless rearrangements of the text, but they are not confusing.
There are several directorial oddities, of which I will mention two here. First, in the third scene -- where Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches -- the witches simply amble away after they have delivered their prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo. Contrary to what Macbeth and Banquo declare, the witches do not suddenly vanish. Given that the sudden disappearance could have been effected easily in a production made for television, the directorial decision to have the witches simply walk away is strange indeed. Second, during the scene with Banquo's ghost, there are two empty chairs rather than only one. There is the empty chair across from Macbeth, where Banquo's ghost appears. Clumsily, however, there is another empty chair at the very part of the table where Macbeth is standing. Quite unclear is why the director included that second empty chair, especially given that its position makes rather ludicrous Macbeth's question about the location of a vacant seat.
In short, this production is well worth watching even though it is marred by some shortcomings.
