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Radio Macbeth
Adapted from the playa by Shakespeare
Created and Performed by SITI Company
Co-Directed by Anne Bogart and Darron L. West
At Court Theatre
5535 S. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL
Call 773-753-4472, www.courttheatre.org
Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8:00 pm
Saturdays at 3 & 8 pm
Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 pm
Running time is 100 minutes without intermission
Through December 7, 2008
Provocative take on the Scottish play unfolds with intense emotions
Anne Bogart’s SITI Company has been touring “Radio Macbeth” across the USA and their visit to Court Theatre was a most empathetic and intense production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The seven member SITI ensemble work together and continually strive to polish and enhance their production of “Radio Macbeth.” Director Anne Bogart and set and costume designer James Schuette have stripped the Court stage down to am empty black box adorned by a few microphones with several tables and wooden folding chairs. The premise is enchanting:
Late night in the guts of an abandoned theater, a company of actors gathers to rehearse Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Soon they become aware that they are not alone. The spirit of “Macbeth” stirs the emotions as ladders fall and the lights mysteriously go out. The players utilize SIT’s trademark training and rehearsal process that includes a rigorous combination of the Suzuki Method and the Viewpoints discipline. “The Suzuki Method involves an intense and strict series of physical movements, with particular emphasis on the vigorous work of the lower body and feet. This method draws from ballet, Japanese theater, and martial arts, among other influences, and strives ‘to heighten the actor’s emotional and physical power and commitment to each moment on the stage.
As a companion and contrast, the Viewpoints is an improvisation technique which focuses on time and space, and the way in which the performers and ensemble encounter spontaneously with intuitively to generate bold theatrical work quickly.” These SITI traits galvanized their production of “Radio Macbeth.” It took a while for me to understand and embrace their take on the Scottish play but once I got ‘tuned-in,’ the production became a magical ‘in-the-now’ theatrical experience. I could feel the emotions of the players as they became totally engrossed into The Bard’s masterwork. The substantial paradoxes and tragedies of Macbeth came alive in this intriguing production. We witness seven marvelous players, lead by Stephen Webber as Macbeth, internalizing the marvelous language to the degree that the words lead to a manic display of raw emotion including sympathy, dismay and schadenfreude. The actors use gestures, actions and movement to convey the themes and dark symbols of Shakespeare’s classic.
Aikko Aizawa, Will Bond, Glan-Murray Gianino, Ellen Lauren, Barney O’Hanlon, Makela Spielman and the terrific Stephen Webber deftly breather new life into “Macbeth” make it a rare theatrical treat. I enjoyed this unique artsy production. If you’re a lover of avant guarde theatre, you’ll love “Radio Macbeth.”
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2008
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