Macbeth: His Story. Her Tragedy @ The McCadden Place Theatre

By William Shakespeare

Let’s be absolutely clear from the beginning…this is Macbeth.

But it is a slightly altered version of it.  While still keeping the unadulterated and original text, this Macbeth is told through the lens of Lady Macbeth, with her story fully rooted in the realm of a survivor of abuse.  It is through her eyes that we view the world of this play, hers and the other female roles.  So it puts us all in a rather interesting place, as audience, as actors, as men and women.

Why would a woman, a wife, encourage her husband down a path of murder, treachery, and the unadulterated ambition of power for power’s sake?  A path that from the very beginning could only ever end one way for the two of them?  It’s a question that, at least in this compelling version of the infamous Scottish play, is answered loud and clear by posing the idea that Lady Macbeth was raped by King Malcom and that this terrible crime was the source of her rage and the fire beneath the entire story.

It’s quite a proposition and, given the current climate, a resonating one.

From the start of the play, with some interesting and reality tilting dance and movement, the story is off its center…just enough.  The men are who they are in print, but the women carry a subtle and slightly unnerving power that focuses the audience on the ‘why’ of the play, and when the why is not so centered on Macbeth himself as we are used to, it gives the story a riveting and powerful twist.

The staging is excellent, very well crafted, and it serves this huge iconic story brilliantly.  The cast is mesmerizing, the roles from large to small are all as strong as each other and the female roles are particularly striking, as they should be given the tone. They're played, without exception, with heart, intelligence and a kind of raw strength that steered this play throughout.

If you are partial to Shakespeare with a little twist, then “Macbeth: His Story. Her Tragedy” might be right up your 17th century meets #METOO alley. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating and believable take on a tragedy for our times.

Running from March 30th through April 29th, Friday & Saturday at 8pm.

The McCadden Place Theatre, 1157 North McCadden Place,  Los Angeles, CA

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3342977

Directed by Heidi Powers; Tom Moore Asst. Dir.

CAST:

Lady Macbeth - Cyanne McClairian

Macbeth - Brendan Cadigan Weinhold

The Crone - Kathy Deitch

The Mother - Josie Adams McCoy

The Stranger - Corinna McCoy

The Son - Josey McCoy

The Maiden - Esther Mira

Duncan - Ben Atkinson

Banquo - Mitchell Bisschop

Macduff - Patrick Censoplano

Ross - Gordon Meacham

Angus - Andrew Justus

Lennox - Bradley West

U/S Macbeth - Carey Matthews (4/14, 4/20)

Directed by Heidi Powers; Tom Moore Asst. Dir.

Choreography by Heather Lynn Smith

Original Music Compositions by Alison Fatih Sulock and Ryan DeReme