A violent 'Macbeth' premiers at the Guthrie
By: Daniel Kerwin, Managing Editor
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: The Arts
If being at Macalester has heightened your appetite for all things Scottish, then you won't want to miss the Guthrie Theater's production of the ultimate Scottish play, William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The play opened last Sunday and plays through April.
As with most Shakespeare plays, you should make sure to brush up on the story before attending. The play stays close to the authentic Shakespearean language, which at times becomes desperately hard to follow. You will lose nothing from the experience by knowing the story beforehand. You'll do better to look up the plot on Wikipedia, but basically the story follows the fulfillment of a prophecy Macbeth receives from the mysterious Weird Sisters, which sees him rise to the throne of Scotland through murder and deceit, which in turn leads to even further murder and deceit and his eventual demise.
This incarnation of the play keeps the setting in Scotland, but moves the time period to what appears to be the early Twentieth Century. Most of the characters are dressed in military uniforms from the First World War, and while in combat Macbeth packs heat, alternating between shooting foes and slashing them with his combat knife. The fight scenes in the play stand out quite a bit, with the action excellently choreographed to the extent that it wouldn't look out of place in most action movies.
Immediately after you walk into the theater you can tell you will be in for a gloomy story. The production is housed at the Guthrie's Wurtele Thrust Stage, in which the audience sits around the stage in a semi-circle. The dark painting of the stage echoes the dark nature of the play. The set resembles a junkyard, with pieces of trash strewn around it such as an oven and a bicycle, and although the stage transforms throughout the play from battlefield to living room to banquet hall, the trash always remains in sight.
The technical effects greatly enhance the eerie atmosphere that prevails throughout. The voices of the Weird Sisters are enhanced by echo, and during one scene demonic voices are made to come out from small children, producing one of the creepiest effects imaginable.
As with most Shakespeare plays, you should make sure to brush up on the story before attending. The play stays close to the authentic Shakespearean language, which at times becomes desperately hard to follow. You will lose nothing from the experience by knowing the story beforehand. You'll do better to look up the plot on Wikipedia, but basically the story follows the fulfillment of a prophecy Macbeth receives from the mysterious Weird Sisters, which sees him rise to the throne of Scotland through murder and deceit, which in turn leads to even further murder and deceit and his eventual demise.
This incarnation of the play keeps the setting in Scotland, but moves the time period to what appears to be the early Twentieth Century. Most of the characters are dressed in military uniforms from the First World War, and while in combat Macbeth packs heat, alternating between shooting foes and slashing them with his combat knife. The fight scenes in the play stand out quite a bit, with the action excellently choreographed to the extent that it wouldn't look out of place in most action movies.
Immediately after you walk into the theater you can tell you will be in for a gloomy story. The production is housed at the Guthrie's Wurtele Thrust Stage, in which the audience sits around the stage in a semi-circle. The dark painting of the stage echoes the dark nature of the play. The set resembles a junkyard, with pieces of trash strewn around it such as an oven and a bicycle, and although the stage transforms throughout the play from battlefield to living room to banquet hall, the trash always remains in sight.
The technical effects greatly enhance the eerie atmosphere that prevails throughout. The voices of the Weird Sisters are enhanced by echo, and during one scene demonic voices are made to come out from small children, producing one of the creepiest effects imaginable.
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