Edinburgh Fringe 2026

Rockbeth

More The Merrier

Genre: Live Music, Theatre

Venue: theSpace@Surgeons Hall

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

To the heath to meet with Macbeth.  Or, in this case, to theSpaceUK’s cavernous Stephenson Theatre which is mercifully air-conditioned in probably the only heatwave that’s likely to hit the Fringe this year.  And it’s not actually Macbeth, but Rockbeth from the enterprising outfit that is More The Merrier, the performing arm of More House School, an independent learning facility that specialises in helping you people with literacy and language-related special educational needs.

Now, you all know the plot of Macbeth, right?  Good.  But for the one person reading this that’s not au fait with the play, it’s all about power, pursuit thereof, hubris and a generous helping of gratuitous violence.  Yep, Will knew how to write good solid family entertainment.

Rockbeth opens with a bucket load of energy, the full cast on set, dressed to the nines in swathes of tartan, goth blacks, big boots and dangly bits of metal accoutrements, as they launch into one of the many covers from AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Santana, The Sex Pistols and several others that populate this outstanding piece of youth theatre.  Actually, you can delete the “youth” from that last sentence – this show would work almost anywhere and has the potential to go to a whole other level.  Oh, and it’s loud.  Very loud.  No chance of anyone dozing off in the back row in this show.

Rockbeth basically continues in that vein for the next hour, staying resolutely true to the original plot but sprinkling occasional modern narrative amongst a decent sized serving of Shakespeare’s best prose and iambic.  And it takes any excuse to throw in another heavy metal / rock anthem, showcasing the many fine singing voices across this universally strong and engaging cast.

There’s so much to admire in each of the twenty or so actors, plus the quintet of very talented and hard worked musicians.  It’s a piece of theatre with a lot of moving parts; short, snappy scenes; a lot of carefully crafted movement, both during said scenes and in the rapid transitions; musicians cueing up the cast and vice versa; many and varied lighting states; and a lot of quite exquisitely detailed (and realistic) props that were deployed to great effect.

Then there’s the costumes – oh, those costumes – in which tartan and black were the star turns, with each being augmented with “heavy metal” style chains and other interesting features.  Princes and kings were suitably regal, underlings and serfs, well, suitably scruffy.  Top of the scruffs were those three harbingers of doom, the most famous witches in theatre – wonderful rags being supplemented with some superb make up.

Now, the performers.  Most youth theatre productions with a cast this size will have a couple of folks that are, how best to put this……there to make up the numbers.  Not here.  Everyone in that cast made a contribution that will live long in the memory, for all the right reasons.

The band – keyboard, two guitars, bass, percussion – was on point throughout, providing backing in addition to a range of extemporised sound effects, ethereal when murder and mystery were on the agenda and chaotic noise when it came to battle time.

The ensemble discharged their multi-part roles with aplomb, getting through a number of character (and related costume) changes in the process.  Relatively unsung heroes they may have been, but they provide vital continuity and narrative in complex shows like this one.

So, to the main players themselves.  Marnie (Lady Macbeth) is someone to look out for; powerful, resonant singing voice, frightening stage presence; expressive use of face and body through movement; perfect interpretation and delivery of every line.  And whoever thought of breaking the fourth wall in the “out damn spot” speech, with Lady M being flanked by the three witches holding flickering candles deserves some kind of award.  It scared one poor audience member witless.  Never seen it done better, not even by the RSC.

Macbeth (the appropriately hubristic George) and Macduff (played with gravitas by the very talented Loukas) both had complete command of the stage, crystal clear enunciation, great singing voices and the final “battle” scene demonstrated their obvious (and copious) skills in terms of physical theatre – mesmerising barely captures the half of it.  And, when his throat mike went AWOL mid-song, Macbeth/George simply belted out the lyrics acoustically, never missing a note.  Real composure under pressure.

Then there’s those harbingers of doom, and a finer trio it’s hard to imagine.  Seemingly omnipresent (Nico, Ruby and Rosie were on stage from start to finish), they performed their respective core roles with vibrancy, ghoulish joy and unceasing physicality, dismissing Macbeth when they had done with him with palpable disdain.  That pot boiling scene was also a whirlwind of activity and consummately delivered.  Then there was their vital contribution as the on-stage “Greek chorus”, forever reacting to events as they unfolded, cackling and cringing as required, then springing up to act as backing vocals for many of the songs.  And whenever the fourth wall needed to be broken, they were the trio to call on.

Now, to the Porter.  This, as you Bard buffs will know, is a two-minute walk-on part that comes and goes in a flash – all he does is answer a knock at the door – allowing the character to return to the green room and put their feet up.  Not here though.  Here, the Porter entered, convincingly inebriated, singing Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.  Cue instant “audience in stitches” and random applause which would throw many a seasoned actor.  Not Chris Doxey though.  He didn’t miss a beat, in fact he revelled in it, turning on his impressive improv skills, reacting to and playing with the audience throughout.

Somebody needs to sign this guy up, pronto.  You can’t teach the sort of stage skills Doxey patently possesses and he ain’t even out of school yet.  Never mind the very passable singing voice, his obvious acting skills and perfect diction, it’s his ability to work the audience that was so extraordinary, so assured, composed and very, very quick witted.  Priceless.

His was an outstanding individual performance in what is an outstanding collective piece of theatre. Why? Well, adaptation, tick; staging, tick; set and props, tick; costume, tick; musicians, big tick; actors, massive tick.

Everyone involved in this piece was clearly invested in it.  It’s back to that old theatrical adage – if the actors are having fun, then so will the audience. We had that in spades in Rockbeth.  The only shame is that they’ve only got two more performances left (14th and 15th at midday).  Just get there if you can.

Published August 14, 2026 by Tim Wilcock