2008 Woodie Awards
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The Scene
Mute 'Macbeth' loses lines, gains fresh perspective
Synetic revamps classic Shakespearean tragedy
By Shauna Ruda on 2/5/07
Can Shakespeare be silenced? His words, which lie at the center of our most admired poems, seem impossible to separate from his work. Most adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, when deprived of their beautiful language, often miss the mark of genius that is Shakespeare. Yet Synetic Theater attempted a silent performance of "Macbeth" and proved that it can be done.
This is the second Shakespeare play that Synetic Theatre has attempted without words. With its magnificent performance and gothic ambiance, the cast shows that the play does not necessarily need them. It comes alive in a unique blend of dance, movement and expression.
The cast and crew are clever in transforming ideas and emotions into motion and music, and that means that the plot is gracefully communicated. Madeleine Carr, a frequent actress for Synetic, commented that the audience doesn't lose the plot "because it's so beautifully performed. You don't get caught up in the words. ... people always get so caught up in the words."
For those unfamiliar with "Macbeth," the title character, played by Irakli Kavsadze, is tempted by visions of ruling the throne. His seductive and manipulative wife, played by Irina Tsikurishvili, coerces him to achieve that vision through murder. Each murder grows more gruesome than the previous. Kavsadze plays Macbeth as an insecure and highly dependent fool and Tsikurishvili epitomizes the manipulative character that is Lady Macbeth with her flaunting movements and enthralling psychotic facial expressions.
The most essential characters in this play are the malicious trio of witches, Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill and Philip Fletcher, who almost slither across the stage, decked in black, with scheming body language. They pop out of smoking sewers at center stage, and they scare the audience when it least expects.
Spinning across the stage in absolute frenzy is not uncommon in this two-hour dramatic piece, which shows Macbeth's true insanity. A few magnificent scenes are sure to stick in viewers' heads. Visions of the future are played out with lighting changes in slow motion and immediate freezes are so real that they are similar to a major motion picture.
This is the second Shakespeare play that Synetic Theatre has attempted without words. With its magnificent performance and gothic ambiance, the cast shows that the play does not necessarily need them. It comes alive in a unique blend of dance, movement and expression.
The cast and crew are clever in transforming ideas and emotions into motion and music, and that means that the plot is gracefully communicated. Madeleine Carr, a frequent actress for Synetic, commented that the audience doesn't lose the plot "because it's so beautifully performed. You don't get caught up in the words. ... people always get so caught up in the words."
For those unfamiliar with "Macbeth," the title character, played by Irakli Kavsadze, is tempted by visions of ruling the throne. His seductive and manipulative wife, played by Irina Tsikurishvili, coerces him to achieve that vision through murder. Each murder grows more gruesome than the previous. Kavsadze plays Macbeth as an insecure and highly dependent fool and Tsikurishvili epitomizes the manipulative character that is Lady Macbeth with her flaunting movements and enthralling psychotic facial expressions.
The most essential characters in this play are the malicious trio of witches, Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill and Philip Fletcher, who almost slither across the stage, decked in black, with scheming body language. They pop out of smoking sewers at center stage, and they scare the audience when it least expects.
Spinning across the stage in absolute frenzy is not uncommon in this two-hour dramatic piece, which shows Macbeth's true insanity. A few magnificent scenes are sure to stick in viewers' heads. Visions of the future are played out with lighting changes in slow motion and immediate freezes are so real that they are similar to a major motion picture.
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