Macbeth

Reviewed by Philip Brandes
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum
Through September 23

RECOMMENDED

It’s good to be the King—or is it? The titular Scottish monarch and his Lady consort discover many reasons to regret their lust for power in the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s haunting production of Macbeth.

Making excellent use of a 26-member ensemble and the outdoor Topanga venue’s expansive natural canyon backdrop, Ellen Geer’s atmospheric staging leans into the eerie supernatural elements in William Shakespeare’s blood-steeped tragedy.

When some spooky witches notify battle-hardened soldier Macbeth (Max Lawrence) about his impending upward mobility and ultimate fate, a more secular-focused production might make do with a cackling trio who strut and fret their lines upon the stage and then are heard no more. Here, however, a writhing, demonic foursome not only deliver their cryptic clues but lurk around the periphery to delight in the ensuing mayhem.

Macbeth’s response to the prophecy that he will soon be king raises a fundamental question about the character’s arc: is he a heroic warrior seduced into moral bankruptcy by the witches and his ruthlessly ambitious wife (Willow Geer)? Or was he just born that way?

In Lawrence’s assured performance there’s a clear choice: from the outset, the witches’ prophesies fall on receptive ears. This innately sociopathic Macbeth fully understands that achieving his desired destiny requires the murder of King Duncan (suitably regal Franc Ross, who later doubles as the comical Hellsgate Porter).

Macbeth’s only moment of hesitation comes in considering the enormity of this regicide: killing Duncan is not just an assassination, it is the upending of an entire natural order. Fortunately, Geer’s  steely and sultry Lady M provides the reassurance that Duncan’s throne occupancy is merely a temp job (a nice change of pace from the Theatricum veteran’s more genteel roles). 

Once he crosses the threshold, Lawrence’s Macbeth steadily builds in remorseless malevolence—it’s in-for-a-penny, in-for-a-pound for him as the bodies pile up. 

Particularly horrific is the callous glee with which Macbeth engineers the murder of his stalwart fellow-solder and bestie, Banquo (Jeff Wiesen). Slain Banquo’s ghastly apparition crashing the Macbeths’ dinner party stands out among Tracy Wahl’s consistently fine costume designs, and dials the creepy factor to eleven. 

Banquo’s fate was sealed by his presence at Macbeth’s first encounter with the witches, who also foretold the threat he posed to Macbeth’s reign. Though both friends received supernatural prophesies that spoke to their dark ambitions, Wiesen’s Banquo maintains an uncorruptible decency and integrity that further illuminates the receptive rot at Macbeth’s core.

Ironically, it’s Geer’s even more merciless Lady Macbeth who descends into guilt-ridden madness as she struggles in vain to wash away that indelible damned spot of conscience.

Lawrence handles Macbeth’s resulting “Out, out, brief candle” soliloquy with commanding force and a chilling lack of affect at the loss of his life partner-in-crime. Still, adding a shudder at the implicit prospect of his own mortality would make the speech more than an academic lecture on existentialism — after all, at this point the only human emotion still left festering in him is fear of the fine print in the witches’ prophesies of his own invincibility. Why not show it here?

That fear becomes abundantly apparent, however, with the predicted movement of Burnham Wood, camouflaging the advancing opposing troops (could you ask for better props than all that lush Topanga foliage?). Macbeth’s mounting terror culminates in the punchline to the world’s most macabre Caesarian section joke, as he squares off in a well-choreographed duel with his nemesis, Macduff (a notably complex Aaron Hendry, who conveys in just a few lines the grief his character endures at having abandoned his family to Macbeth’s murderous thugs).

Macduff’s revenge is sweet, but ’twould be sweeter still had not budgetary constraints reduced the tyrant’s severed head to a hoisted burlap sack. In other respects, though, the production doesn’t short-change the shocks in Shakespeare’s unnerving meditation on the nature of evil. 

The precision and clarity in Ellen Geer’s staging are bound to satisfy viewers already familiar with the play, and provide a thrilling introduction for MacNewbies.

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.,Topanga; in rep thru Sept. 23, see website for schedule; https://theatricum.com/macbeth/; Running Time:  2 hours and 5 minutes including intermission.