MacBetty

(About to head over to Shakespeare's Scottish Play)

Wow, Shakespeare's Scottish play, as performed by Naked Shakes, was interesting. It is easy to imagine that this is what it would have been like in Shakespeare's day; the audience seated high up in the Globe theatre relying on the actor's words because they can't see the stage or actions very well. One thing I found spectacular was the Naked Shakes vision that, "There is no rule that says only actors of the right gender, ethnic background, race, height and height are allowed to play a certain character." I thought all female cast in male roles did splendid. One major detail that made the play rather interesting was the commitment to character. A great player was Madelyn Robinson, playing the role of Lady MacBetty. In addition to the level of commitment, the ability of some players changing into other characters was astonishing; for example, a couple players were horses for scene and I was very impressed with their character choices made. Last but certainly not least, were the incorporation of great visuals during the performance. A main visual I liked was when people swayed their hands back and forth in sync in the background while MacBetty recited his "dagger" monologue. My favorite visual was the use of red gloves after Duncan's murder; it was a simple way to show the deed was done and caught everyone's eye because the players wore all black with the exception of Lady MacBetty wearing a read blouse (discretely revealing her character).