In BK Opera artistic director Kate Millett’s latest thought-provoking work – a turbulent and thoroughly gripping production of Verdi’s Macbeth – we are continually reminded that, despite our supposedly advanced cognitive capabilities, moral thought and cultural complexity, we are inescapably part of the animal kingdom.

For Verdi’s four-act version of Shakespeare’s early 17th-century play – premiered in 1847 and composed in the fruitful years that launched his universal acclaim – Millett doesn’t hold back in bringing out the beastliness and barbarism our DNA carries in a figurative sense.

Macbeth abounds with unrest, violence and superstition, in which the quest for absolute power is so great that nothing less than murder can satisfy its need. In this production, murder is indeed a messy affair as it magnifies the darkest nature of humanity. This is thrilling opera up close, supported by an imaginative creative team and a raft of impressive young developing and emerging artists.

BK Opera’s Macbeth. Photo © Kate Cameron

The restrained, neoclassical, double-height interior of the 19th-century Kensington Town Hall is ideally suited to both Millett’s concept and the venue’s acoustic richness. What immediately grabs attention on entering the hall is a long and broad banquet table running the length of the room, set with a range of goblets and candlesticks – and a spread of fare to come – with mismatched chairs on either side. The audience, a full house of around 130 and feeling an integral part of the “banquet”, is seated in three rows along each side.

Cleverly conceived, set designer Max Bowyer’s table acts as a performance runway, beginning a few steps down from the proscenium. The red velvet stage curtain remains down but allows for select entrances and exits.

At the other end, several steps permit movement on and off the table onto a space where conductor Leonard Weiss commands the musical canvas, with Konrad Olszewski at a grand piano nearby. A large draped cloth hangs behind, suggesting woods, and acts as another point of access. Millett utilises all these points to theatrical advantage for the ebb and flow of the action.

While the dramatically eerie overture plays, an unidentified corpse is dragged like hunted game along the table by the monk-like, cloaked and hooded witches. When Macbeth subsequently appears, he carries a dead white stag over his shoulders and places it on the stage in what could be symbolic of the achievement of the unattainable or, perhaps, a connection to the supernatural. Whichever the case, it’s a powerful presence for the opera’s duration and a go-to lifeless creature from which bloodied hands emerge.

BK Opera’s Macbeth. Photo © Kate Cameron

As part of Oliver Hall’s costumes, which subtly bind the medieval with the modern, beastly masks are donned by the chorus of witches, as are the nobles at the banquet celebrating Macbeth as newly crowned king, in an unsettling act that emphasises the festering circumstances.

Lighting designer Gabriel Bethune balances boldness with gloom alongside the evening’s fading light glimpsed through the hall’s many arched windows above, and smoke effects add misty intrigue.

Among so many atmospheric tableaux, the Act II finale – in which guests are terrified by Macbeth’s ramblings of phantoms and witches – is an ensemble highlight, as is the descent into anarchic chaos in Act III as the witches swirl through and food is hurled about.

Henry Shaw in BK Opera’s Macbeth. Photo © Kate Cameron

But the stars are two blazing young artists: hefty bass-baritone Henry Shaw and impressively ferocious soprano Livia Brash, who render the Macbeths with substantial might and definition.

As the narrative unfolds, Shaw takes on an increasingly impassioned robustness that reflects Macbeth’s unravelling psyche. Possessing not only the vocal colour and flexibility to emote with convincing force, Shaw also has the acting chops. Even before the poignantly sung and introspective final aria, Pietà, rispetto, amore, in Act IV – delivered after learning of the English-supported Scottish advance — Shaw brings moving depth and gravitas to the role.

As Lady Macbeth, Brash storms through a punishing list of coercive, dramatic arias, not only owning the role but the space in which she performs, holding her audience captive in a mature and chillingly fierce depiction — so much so that thoughts of her barricading the exit and preventing anyone from escaping might have crossed many minds. From Act I’s resolute Or tutti, sorgete to Act II’s jubilant and commanding Brindisi, through to a bewitching Sleepwalking Scene and the intoxication of murderous thoughts in between, Brash electrified every moment.

Livia Brash in BK Opera’s Macbeth. Photo © Kate Cameron

Nicholas Beecher’s appealing, warm baritone and notable flexibility get a fine workout as the brave and loyal Banquo. Passionate tenor Daniel Szesiong Todd is the avenging hero Macduff, pushing himself to the limit in Act IV’s Ah, la paterna mano. The ensemble of 12, filling smaller roles as well as witches, nobles and messengers, demonstrate just how committed they are to honing their stagecraft.

For those familiar with Verdi’s lush orchestration, it takes several minutes to adjust to a reduced piano score, but Olszewski plays with compelling energy and sensitivity, while Weiss holds the fort splendidly with well-paced tempi.

It’s not only the lush, dramatic score that makes Verdi’s Macbeth worth experiencing again. Millett’s vividly visceral staging turns it into something you’d gladly come back to for seconds. And with performers moving through your personal space, offering unique, Sensurround-like vocal modulations, it’s a brilliant opportunity to revel in opera. Here’s hoping Millett’s Macbeth earns a revival in the future.

BK Opera presents Macbeth at Kensington Town Hall until 25 November.