Radio Macbeth

For those who know the tale, ‘Radio Macbeth’ a potent potion

by Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

To be sure, the New York-based SITI Company production of "Radio Macbeth" is not a starter kit for Shakespeare's tale about a bloody quest for power, the guilt and destruction that can result from unbridled ambition, and the poisonous dynamics of a marriage.

In fact, it's a good bet that director Anne Bogart's highly stylized 90-minute deconstruction and distillation of the play, now at Court Theatre, will leave anyone only vaguely familiar with this play in the mist much of the time, despite the familiar witches' chant of "Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and cauldron, bubble," and Lady Macbeth's futile washing of her blood-stained hands.

But for those who have made it through traditional versions of this tragedy, and have seen such quirky variations as "Kabuki Macbeth" and "500 Clown Macbeth," this production of "the Scottish play" offers yet another way into the story. It is one that literally begins in the dark as a group of actors in the 1940s (perhaps at work in wartime Britain, though no mention of this is ever overtly made) stumble onto a bare, unlit theater stage rigged with several microphones. Gradually they begin to launch into an ad hoc run-through of a radio broadcast of the drama.

The ensemble of seven actors, dressed in their street clothes (James Schuette's costumes suggest a period equivalent of the characters) move in and out of character -- many of them playing multiple roles and acting as stagehands and assistants who are pitching in to complete the cast. But Bogart (whose best-known works include richly haunting portraits of such American artists as Robert Rauschenberg and Joseph Cornell) has partnered intensely with her sound designer, Darron L. West, to conjure the kind of aural landscape -- church chimes, relentless banging on a castle door, screams -- that would make it especially fearsome on radio.

The whole thing starts slowly but gradually grows on you, with certain aspects of Shakespeare's language becoming clearer for the overall paring down of the text and lack of formal action (though every move and gesture in the show is meticulously choreographed). The usual emotional engagement is supplanted by a kind of heightened sensory alertness. Your synapses, if not your heart, are quickened.

As Macbeth, Stephen Webber, dressed in a bland gray suit, is a sort of brooding, slow, intensely eloquent clod who only comes to see himself clearly after it is too late. Ellen Lauren, in a fiery red sheath, mink coat and viperish hat, is all hot-and-cold manipulativeness. Makela Spielman easily steals the show several times as she enacts a witch, a porter and the formidable Lady Macduff, and Barney O'Hanlon is the sweet stagehand who brings a true nobility of speech to the roles of Banquo and Malcolm. Will Bond, Gian Murray Gianino and the heavily-accented Akiko Aizawa (whose movement is far more articulate than her speech) complete the cast of this intriguing if not completely satisfying experiment.

NOTE: Despite its overwhelming success with the Tony Kushner-Jeannine Tesori musical "Caroline, or Change" earlier this season, Court Theatre was unable to extend the show to meet audience demand. And the unthinkable happened -- potential ticket buyers had to be turned away. But stay tuned: Though nothing is set yet, a plan is afoot to bring the show back this summer.