See it if
you'd appreciate an up close, modern & wonderfully staged and realized production of the Scottish Play, with fine if uneven performances.
Don't see it if
you need period costumes, sets & prosceniums, don't like actors too close to you or like your Shakespeare with needless British accents.
Remarkably well staged & directed by its founders, The Seeing Place Theatre's Macbeth Is proof of how much can be accomplished with little more than bodies, light & space, in this case a very intimate space which never feels tight. With gorgeous lighting by Duane Pagano that helps propel the action, great design & even signage, it's the essence of how theatre can transport and engage. There's even something of Grotowski's Poor Theatre here; not the intense physicality, but in the attempt of stripping away all surface to truth.
That said, the company might consider Grotowski's exploration of voice & projection. Shakespeare is too often exclamatory & rushed rather than conversational, so that meaning gets lost. The production is well cast, and the warhorse speeches (Spot/Tomorrow) seem underplayed to avoid cliché; interesting choices, but they lose their punch.
The 100 minute run time is a great goal, but the pre-battle McDuff/Malcom speeches should be trimmed for a restless audience.
RSS Feed