Which is another good reason to go to a play that the Washington Post gives 5 stars - which I did tonight. Also tonight, I am raising a Mike's Hard Lemonade to the fact that I watched Macbeth a few short hours ago (in a theater that I can walk to!) and was enthralled, moved - and best of all, understood it completely. Mike's Hard Lemonade must be consumed, because my darling boyfriend bought two 12-packs while in the Poconos this weekend from a distributor -- and the group we were with was too wiped from white water rafting earlier to actually drink them. I wasn't - because of my stitches I didn't go but had a wonderfully relaxing day doing pretty much nothing but watching two episodes of The Nanny, The Lion King (SO GOOD), and then playing Disney Trivia with the brother of my sister-in-law, Eric, who I just adore. We had a great weekend.
Okay, so, Macbeth. I know Shakespeare created many new words - does anyone know if he created cut-throat?
First Murderer
My lord, his throat is cut; that I did for him.
MACBETH
Thou art the best o' the cut-throats
I remember having to read Shakespeare in high school and hating it -- Everyone who is forced to read Shakespeare should get the pleasure of seeing it as it was meant to be seen--because it truly FINALLY makes sense. The characters the "immortal bard" wrote about sounded just like his nickname - haughty, pretentious, self-important--even cheesy--when I simply read the words they spoke. But tonight, I saw people perform them with a vast array of emotions exploding out of them on the stage - fear, anger, tearfulness, depression, malice, lust. The best was when I realized later that what was being said rhymed. What they were saying seemed so natural! The performance distracted me from the cheesiness of rhyme that I was so blatantly aware of when I read it. The actor tonight who said the words below was so creepy, I didn't catch the rhyme until later:
First Apparition
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.
The actor who said those words was shirtless, skinny, yet extremely muscular. Watching him twist his muscles as he struggled to speak his prophecy was so compelling!
Shakespeare has occasional stage directions, but not many. It keeps things so open for every acting company who performs it. I loved this version by the Push/Pull Theater Company. They used capoeira for all the fighting scenes which are so much more engaging and truly physical than all other stage fighting I've ever seen. It made it look so much less fake (!) and way more theatrical - and you know as a gleek that I love theatricality.
One such stage direction that could have helped me while reading would be a simple (TO MACBETH) direction when Lady Macbeth is asking Macbeth to, frankly, keep his $*#% together after killing the king and ordering a servant to kill his friend. It looks like she is talking to the guests only - but in the performance I just watched - she has such disgust, vileness, and hatred when she spits out the last part in his face, away from the table - Are you a man?! Such a 180 from the way she is placating and reassuring the guests! You just can't read that sort of passion - which is why I would hope more high school students get the experience of seeing just how radically opposite of "haughty, cheesy, and self-important" these characters get. Lady Macbeth showed her true evil colors all over the place!
ROSS
Gentlemen, rise: his highness is not well.
LADY MACBETH
Sit, worthy friends: my lord is often thus,
And hath been from his youth: pray you, keep seat;
The fit is momentary; upon a thought
He will again be well: if much you note him,
You shall offend him and extend his passion:
Feed, and regard him not. Are you a man?
I also loved the way the cast was dressed - everyone barefoot, with modern hairstyles, and simple clothing. I liked that the production was largely bereft of props and over-the-top costumes. I loved the witches' costumes - the closest thing to theatricality beyond the performers' actions - their extended black arms that had sweeping long black fabric worked wonderfully for their characters. - Here you can see Lady Macbeth's hateful and fearful looks at her husband, the Weird Sisters and their cool costumes, the simple clothing the cast wore, and at least one capoiera move immediately before a dagger is plunged deep into Macbeth's heart.
So, speaking of the Wierd Sisters, I love how I caught a few things in the play that took me straight to my most favorite of stories - Harry Potter. Obviously, the fantastic "Something Wicked This Way Comes" track that is easily my favorite song in the films. I can't lie - I got a little giddy when they said it - referencing the murderous maniac Macbeth. Nice alliteration, eh, Shakespeare?
I also couldn't help but connect the Wierd Sisters with these rockers:
My final thoughts on this fun performance are another nod to the idea that people should really see the performance if they're going to read the play - especially high school students. Take these next few lines, which I consider the best of the whole play:
Macbeth:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
This is said after he learns of Lady Macbeth's death. When reading it, I took the emotion to be detachment, carelessness, a way of showing that he is superior to the common, living people -- and I really hated him for it! In this play, tonight, I grew attached to Macbeth from the beginning -- and stayed with him throughout the play. David Winkler is fantastic, (he plays Macbeth) and I am THRILLED to learn that he is a founding artistic associate of the theater that is only a half mile from where I live! And as a blog that celebrates life soon after graduation, Winkler recently graduated from Northwestern University (at least that's what it says in his bio). In this play, the way he lets the three "tomorrow"s be pulled out of his mouth and fall to the floor--each with a deep thud is just magic. He is so anguished - and my favorite part of this moment is the way Winkler says the last word, "nothing." It came out of him with a guttural rage!
Shakespeare always lacked context to me when I read it and had me flipping open a Sparksnotes book (or more often reading the explanation online). The amazing thing about the play tonight was that the players' actions were the context. That, I think, is acting at it's best - when something is nearly in a foreign language but the touches, gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions and pure emotion--I was shocked at one moment to see Lady Macbeth, listening to her enemies in the corner, have tears all over her face--provide all the clues the audience would need. I wish all students of Shakespeare could have what I have tonight.
I also want to say again how wonderful it was to not be so overworked that I could actually immerse myself in a cultural event that had me concentrating on each moment of the artists' expression--largely trying to catch the Harry Potter references, words made up by Shakespeare, and ways I could further piss off my high school English teachers. The event was deeply satisfying and was another thing I had to blog about because there are many joys about life on the other side of graduation.
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