Full of sound and fury

Unfortunately (in my opinion), our seating for Macbeth turned out to be the reverse of our seating for Midsummer; we found ourselves in the back row.

This was mainly a problem because the placement of a few of the stage lights made the rest of the auditorium too visible; I could see everything in the theater and found this distracting. Otherwise, the lighting was superb. The set was almost totally black except for a red moon that was obscured upon Duncan's murder and a red gash in the floor that widened as the action progressed. Smoke floated across the stage throughout the performance, accentuating the white beams of the lights.

Consistent with the scenery, the costumes were all in black, red, or white. As Sharpton noted afterward, there were hints of Asian influence in all of this; the armor and choreography strongly suggested samurai.

The experience was much different from the previous night's. I found Macbeth slightly less absorbing (and, of course, less amusing) than A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it had some very strong performances. A few scenes were genuinely creepy, and Lady Macbeth was particularly fanatical and seductive. I hope Wheeler will soon post more thorough reviews of both plays. Meantime, I think I can strongly recommend the Texas Shakespeare Festival to anyone interested.

| Posted by Wilson at 16:05 Central | TrackBack
| Report submitted to the Humanities Desk