The Blue Raincoat company signaled their punches in advance. This would not, they said, be a literal realisation of Shakespeare's original, and their programme rather opaquely bears a picture of Judy Garland. Expect, they are saying, the unexpected.

And, for some 75 minutes, that is what they deliver, in their own established style. The story of Macbeth sweeps along with pace and colour, its highpoints embedded in a surreal elaboration. There is balletic movement, lively background music, eclectic costumes and impressive tableaux. A few pieces of furniture - a bed, a wardrobe - are set in motion to provide background and support to a variety of scenes.

There is also the word, still Shakespeare's; but it has been subjected to such abbreviation as to diminish its grandeur, playing second fiddle to the creative action. The characters, as furnished and played here, are a representation rather than an interpretation of their originals. The three witches, here three lively lasses bent on mischief, illustrate this approach.

The actors - company stalwarts such as Brendan Ellis, John Carty, Ciaran McAuley, Kevin Quinn and Caroline Lynch - do their disciplined thing, excellent as always. Michael Cummins bathes his own set design in golden light and shadow, and Niall Henry directs so as to achieve the sense of a vision realised.

But I, too, have something to bring to this feast. That is a knowledge of Shakespeare's play, of its dramatic grandeur, its opportunities for great performances, its depth of meditation. This knowledge inevitably leads me to the comparison which its subjects like to refer to as odious; but it is less severe on this occasion.

Almost by definition - really their own - Blue Raincoat have produced a copy subordinate and inferior to its master, but still succeed in offering something imaginative and worthwhile. They deserve their applause.

Runs until March 31st; to book phone 071-70431