Preview- Macbeth- Sweet and Sour Productions
26-3-15
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By: Meaghan McGurgan
Something wicked this way comes…
It sounds eery from the start, doesn’t it? Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a story filled with evil intentions and twisted characters. Known often as the Scottish play by theatre geeks, due to theatre superstition surrounding the script; Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the most widely performed of his tragedies.
Candice Moore of Sweet and Sour Productions promises that this version will be unlike any other staged in Hong Kong previously, “The text is stripped down to the bare essentials with seven actors playing 16 roles. We are focusing on the alluring and destructive nature of ambition, power, instability, wickedness and witchcraft.”
For those that don’t know the plot of the story, “Brave Scottish General, Macbeth, receives a prophecy from a trio of sinister witches promising him a golden future as ruler of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. But he soon learns the meaning of terror as he is wracked with guilt and paranoia, becoming a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness and death.”
“It is a dark, modern re-imagination of this classic, bloody play,” says Candice, “… Hopefully students who are studying the play will also come and see it.”
Local performers Hamish Campbell, Vicki Rummun, Jacqueline Gourlay Grant, Jai Day and Henry Coombs are in the cast. Muriel Hofmann is playing the sinister Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Atkinson is taking on the title role.
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With Nick’s portrayal of Macbeth, they focused on the conflict and turmoil he experiences between being a good man and a tyrant. “I have never played a Shakespearean lead before,” he says. “I just want to make sure that I do it justice and that the language is spoken in the clearest way possible.” He describes the work as “Simple. Honest. Clear.” Three words that show Sweet and Sour’s production will be about the characters and story, rather than flash and presentation. Audiences that appreciate well produced, bare bones theatre should love this version of the Scottish play.
“Shakespeare captures his audiences feelings in his characters,“ says Jacqueline who is playing the First Witch, Porter and Doctor in the production. “… Same today as 400 yrs ago.”
Sweet and Sour is known for new and provocative work on the Hong Kong stage. They’ve walked away with Hecklers in the past, including last year’s Best Production for Doubt but awards don’t phase Candice. “You are only as good as your last show so this one presents new, exciting opportunities and challenges.”
Macbeth is playing from April 16th to April 25th at the Fringe Underground Theatre. The show begins at 7:30pm. Tickets are currently available on HKticketing and are 250HKD. There are additional discounts for students, seniors, Fringe Club members and persons with disabilities. The small blackbox sets its own unique challenges for the creative team behind the project. Candice promises an “imaginative, innovative set and lighting design that will contain and heighten the atmosphere. This will complement the acting style of the piece,”
Set designer, Lara Genovese, elaborates, “Shakespeare deals with the human mind and conditions/ metaphors of life, so obviously a black box best suit this and gives freedom of expression and reinterpretation of the script… the set will be minimalist. It will be a portrayal of Macbeth's corrupted mind and tortured one with very simple effects which will "degenerate" in time revealing the lost soul and the claustrophobic feeling he slowly gets trapped into with his own hands. The set breaths, speaks and transforms side by side with the light.”
Muriel Hofmann who plays Lady Macbeth adds, “The fringe is the perfect venue for this play. The size ensures intimacy between the audience and the action on stage.”
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Hong Kong audiences love ambitious men… Power struggles are commonly seen here on the floors of Legco, the walls of social media and in board rooms. You have to wonder if this new interpretation will hit too close to home. Macbeth lets us question if ambition is the root of all evil? After all Shakespeare said… “Hell is empty and the devils are all here.”
For more information about Macbeth, click here.
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