Edinburgh Fringe 2025

Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence

Crash Theatre Co and House of Oz

Genre: Comedy, Musical Theatre

Venue: Assembly at George Square

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

Those of you with the misplaced conception that netball is a gentile game for ladies looking for a bit of exercise have clearly never watched the game as practiced in the land down under, where the on court shenanigans make the Wallabies men’s rugby team look like a bunch of flower arrangers.

Netball is one of life’s fiercely competitive sports and so offers the perfect background for what turns out to be one of the most innovative (and very musical) adaptions of Macbeth that you’re likely to stumble across.

Set to a thumping original soundtrack, underpinned by original electronic pop-synth compositions created by Project BEXX from Western Australia, the show uses complex harmonies, slick comic timing and a bucket load of enervating choreography to deliver a stunning spectacle in an action packed hour.

Macbeth’s plot is one nearly everyone knows but, bear with me, this show really is a bit different.  It’s netball time and Mac Beth (get it?) is desperate to win the coveted title of Dunsinane Hell-Hounds Year 12 Netball Captain, triggering a gripping tale of ambition, betrayal, and redemption as Coach Duncan’s decisions spark a fierce battle for the crown.

The Dagger Divas, a trio of dreamy melodies (think about it….), visit Mac in her slumbers, describing ghostly encounters, firing Mac to overcome adversity and fight on.  Amid the usual accusations and plot twists, Mac’s determination leads her to the brink of glory as one by one, captains are appointed only to mysteriously fall by the wayside shortly after.

Mac’s reckless actions create increasing suspicion and fear among her teammates and, as team alliances shift and friendships fracture, a climactic denouement awaits on the netball battlefield.  Will Mac’s single-minded drive for success lead to triumph or banishment?

This is an extremely skilfully written and staged rollercoaster of a show, with its acute focus on the smaller details appealing to the disparate audience it has attracted here at Assembly George Square Studio 1’s cavernous venue.  It blends hilarious, sharp satire in what is a heartfelt take on ambition, power and a good dollop of teen girl rage.

You can also play “spot the original Shakespeare text bingo” to your heart’s content as the instantly recognisable and the more obscure are weaved seamlessly into the banter and badinage that are ever present in team environments, knowing chuckles from the packed and enthralled audience greeting every one.  And there’s a prize for any nerd(s) who spot the line from Hecate, a character in the unexpedited version of Macbeth that has rarely, if ever, made a stage appearance in living memory.

The universally strong cast is on point from first note to last. There’s a great range of voices and a great range within some of those voices which facilitates some pleasing harmonies.  Choreography and movement have been tightly drilled – it all smacks of a real sports team going through a tournament training programme to the point that skills and moves are part of muscle memory.  Segues are tight, sound and lighting crisp and supportive of the on stage activity.  And you’ve got the latter in spades – the plot rattles along quickly but the on-stage multi-media screen featuring surtitled lyrics helps the audience keep up.  Just.

This is work that can be viewed in a number of ways; it’s a superb piece of musical theatre, delivered by a top class octet working as a real team; it stresses the need to continue to fight for equality on all fronts, gender included; it highlights the emotional journey of sisterhood – joyful and challenging moments, offering emotional support, celebrating successes, providing a shoulder to cry on; and it bangs a massive drum for more a more inclusive, diverse and equitable future for women in sports.

And the development of the show to the point that it can tour internationally is almost a show in itself.  Crash Theatre Co is the brainchild of Ana Ferreira Manhoso and Courtney McManus and has been going for a decade in Western Australia but this is their first venture into musical theatre.  The show debuted in the 2024 Perth Fringe before continuing around the rest of the Australian circuit to such acclaim that they took the plunge to hit Edinburgh.

Thanks heavens they did!  This show will appeal to the young, the not so young as well as anyone with even a vague interest in watching or participating in competitive sports.   And to old Shakespeare buffs like this reviewer.  Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence is one of those rare shows that everyone can get something from.

So, dig out your trainers and sports gear and head on down there.  But you might need to run .  It’s selling out fast because it’s a winner.  And everybody loves a winner.

Published August 17, 2025 by Tim Wilcock