Shakespeare’s Macbeth, full of witches, ghosts, hallucinations, a power-hungry potentate, murders and suicides, would, you would think, be relatively easy to transform into a ballet.

But this is choreographer Alice Topp’s creation, and she likes a challenge – the challenge here being to translate Macbeth into a modern political setting. It’s Topp at her best, diving headfirst into a brilliant exposé of human frailty and hubris, against which all Roman Caesars were warned as the laurel-leaf crown descended upon their heads.

Sad that no such warning existed for Macbeth – or does now, come to think of it. And, of course, Macbeth had the added pressure of a wife who was as ambitious as he was, rather like Cherie Blair, wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom Topp’s Macbeth, Charles Westwood, uncannily resembles.

Macbeth: Charles Dashwood (centre). Photo © Sergey Pevnev

Topp’s choreography is a wonderful assault on the senses; Dashwood and Alexa Tuzil as Lady Macbeth are outstanding, and this opening night was one of those rare evenings in a theatrical venue when, from the very start, you find yourself sitting forward in surprise and delight, sensing something magical is going to evolve.

But then, putting together Topp, lighting and set designer Jon Buswell, and costume designer Aleisa Jelbart is like recruiting a dream team. What adds even more lustre is a spellbinding original score by composer Christopher Gordon.

Gordon’s score is played live by string musicians from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joel Bass, and accompanied by a recording featuring 126 international timpani musicians.

It’s permeated by what Gordon calls the ‘Macbeth Chord’, based on D-flat and containing both minor thirds and a major seventh, which together make a mysterious, tense and cinematic sound, just perfect for a tragedy like Macbeth. At other times, the soundscape could have accompanied a 1940s film noir or 1930s dancers in a pre-war nightclub.

Charles Dashwood as Macbeth and Alexa Tuzil as Lady Macbeth. Photo © Sergey Pevnev

Buswell’s set is centred on a large chamber, variously graced by a parliamentary table and chairs, a pool hall, a dance floor and a banqueting scene. A metallic finish, glowingly heraldic and shiny at the beginning, features a pressed-tin-plated wall which descends at various moments to divide the stage. A set of stairs reaches up to a second floor, exposing Lady Macbeth’s bathroom.

This floor later descends to become the podium, set with lush red curtains, for Macbeth’s inaugural banquet.

Buswell’s lighting, as usual, is an artwork in itself, shifting from the harsh parliamentary setting to the cosy intimacy of Lady Macbeth’s bathroom and spotlights that capture the essential moments of the protagonists’ tragic descent.

Jelbart’s costumes are stylish and apt for its modern-day setting: grey suits, shirts and ties for the business men and women; silky, colourful, sexy dresses for Lady Macbeth, the influencers, and for cocktail parties and banquets, wher the men upgrade to splendid dinner suits.

Alexa Tuzil as Lady Macbeth, with Brent Carson as Influencer in Macbeth. Photo © Sergey Pevnev

The WA Ballet dancers are magnificent in Topp’s muscular, tightly coiled, intensely physical and relentlessly challenging choreography. She skilfully takes the dancers through the tragic tale, beginning with Duncan’s murder at a vivacious dinner party hosted by the Macbeths; then Banquo’s heinous murder in a pool hall by Macbeth’s human attack dogs; and finally the re-emergence of Banquo’s ghost, which triggers Macbeth’s psychological disintegration.

Aspects you might think could not be shown without Shakespeare’s text become clear in Topp’s imaginative style. Macbeth’s ambition, for instance, is shown by hands on the head, fingers splayed upwards, indicating the crown he is told is his destiny. And although here Duncan is poisoned, Lady Macbeth’s attempts to wash the blood from her hands are shown by her accidentally cutting herself in her bathroom.

Indi Drew, Jesse Homes, Sophie McDonald and Ruben Flynn-Kann in Macbeth. Photo © Sergey Pevnev

The corps, never just a background affair, whether behaving badly in Parliament, hedonistically in dance halls or scoffing inelegantly at banquets, illuminate the state of affairs in which the Macbeths are enacting their tragedy. They move in a bent, wide-legged stance in clusters, make threatening body gestures when arguing in Parliament, or, at one point, flap their arms like vultures as they turn on Macbeth. Alternatively, they move in a frisson of carefree abandonment in a jazz dance club, like those pre-war dancers in defiance of the dangerous times awaiting them. They’re magnetic.

Dashwood is a revelation – a great performance that communicates itself instantly to the audience. His sensuous and difficult duets with the impressive Tuzil are skilfully achieved. Their flawless precision and detail make it hard to take your eyes away. Dashwood’s mental disintegration, as he twists and turns in an effort to find a way out, is thrilling to observe.

Like most excellent things, West Australian Ballet’s Macbeth finished far too quickly. It’s a triumph.

West Australian Ballet performs Macbeth at His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth until 19 September.