By Dr. Kathy Curtiss
Looking for a little genuine bone-chilling in your October? A highly recommendable production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth directed imaginatively and with authority by Daniel Mesta has one more night of production, Monday October 15. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s darkest plays, where evil intended witches tempt the fate of a loyal subject, by promising him the Crown. To get what he hopes for, murder of the weakened reigning King is “the nearest way.” The play explores the seed of ambition, and the danger that lies in pride and self-deception. It questions loyalty, love, fidelity to country and king. It is a true horror story as well as an accurate chronicle from history, that I believe Mesta and his fellow adaptors, Chelsea Frandsen and Sarah Re, had a true grasp on as they adapted this work. The creativity of the ensemble is brilliantly apparent.
It is also an audacious undertaking to transport the play to this eerie outdoor location. The symbolism of the play is so rich with references to the natural world, most especially the world of darkness. This is effective, truly, through Colt Brown’s post-apocalyptic graveyard set, and Re’s brilliant and chilling sound design. Brown posts graveyard crosses that surround, and graffiti that makes us aware of the breakdown in society. Re’s sound design features beautiful and frightening Celtic wailing and fierce cello melodies, as well as sound effects and eerie use of the human voice create an ingenious soundscape for a haunting. Lighting is strangely effective with only a few bare smart bulbs. Costumes /Makeup are really effective, and very well designed in texture, color and trendy touch of the occult by Frandsen.
But it is the drive of the play, led by the strong, clear leads of Jacob Baird and Chelsea Mortensen that makes us believe that murder is an imperative as we slip with them around every darkened corner of the mind. All the actors grasp this cutting of the play with depth, moving the play along with a gripping pace and clarity. Mesta has encouraged the use of the Scottish dialect, while a little uneven, still is very effective in making us believe we are somewhere authentic. The collective creativity of the ensemble is apparent throughout.
Baird’s Macbeth is nothing short of brilliant: the imagery and complex metaphors of the role are exceptionally clear as he likewise employs a richness of humor, and genuine connection with the audience. The result is a deeply sympathetic character. The Lady Macbeth, Mortensen, is powerful and cunning, climaxing in a breakdown in the sleepwalking scene that is truly frightening. Mesta has imaginatively developed a relationship between Lady Macbeth and Lady MacDuff that has a surprise and horrifying twist. Lady MacDuff is beautifully played with elegance and emotional power by Calee Gardner. The take on these roles unique and ultimately rewarding. Gardner’s voice as she renders a mournful ballad cuts through the night. Her companions are Ross, played by Casey Greenwood and MacDuff by Nathan Meyers are clear and moving “good guys.” But Brown steals the show in the supporting role of Banquo. His textual clarity is excellent, but his loyalty so deep as to create a moral center for the play. His tender feeling toward his infant child provides sharp contrast to his betrayal. His imaginative physicality in the scene where he is raised from the dead is terrifyingly believable. Another great twist on the plot.
Mesta, following deeper questions in the play, creates “a religious cult through the changing power dynamics against the backdrop of the end of the world.” He invites the audience in his note to “See his vision of the play…set against the backdrop of a harsh canyon on a cracked concrete stage, (as) these nine talented storytellers convey this complex vision with flashlights, lamps, a wheelbarrow, and a knife”.
The witches are also handled in a unique way. Sariah Lyles, Frandsen, and Mesta are fierce and demonically focused. Hecate, played by Re, becomes chief operative in the murders with the three other witches as henchmen. They also play minor characters such as messengers, but the power of their hissing, twisting, shamelessly scary evil beings colors the effect of even the supporting characters, making us feel that evil surrounds us. Lyles’ performance is so rich, her use of accent subtle and powerful, it recalls all the dark magic of the “Caribbean” Calypso in her own unique style. Frandsen and Mesta are likewise unrelentingly demonic, and powerfully played. Then unexpectedly, the audience is circled like prey by the heavy-booted Hecate.
Where to go to see this inventive production of Macbeth? Just up the roads that converge behind the Provo Temple grounds, there is a parking lot where most of us who are hikers or Rock Canyon explorers park to head up the canyon. There is an amphitheatre there just steps to the south, well-lit and with bathrooms. Turn out of the light and we are transported to a fallen world. BRING BLANKETS AND A PILLOW, as the aluminum benches are cold and the wind out of the canyon, while eerie and appropriate, requires coats, scarves and gloves. Congratulations to DAM Good Productions (Daniel A Mesta). Go, cause it’s worth it. It will clearly give an October foray into the scary and the bizarre, but the themes and well acted/directed/designed piece will leave you thinking with a satisfying Shakespeare production.
DAM Good Productions presents Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
Rock Canyon Amphitheatre, 2620 N 1450 E, Provo , UT 84601
Tickets: $10-$15
Macbeth at Rock Canyon Amphitheatre Facebook Event
Recommended for ages 13+
0 Comments