Macbeth
Reviewed by Stephen Fife
134 West Productions
Through September 7
The opening moments of Alyssa Escalante’s production of Macbeth at Art Share L.A. are exquisite. It begins with a standing screen at the rear of the stage that displays a painted blue sky with fluffy white clouds. When the houselights go dark, the screen is backlit, and the three witches (Akira Sky, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Amanda Sylvia Wagner) emerge behind it in silhouette, dropping nefarious ingredients into a bubbling cauldron. Then Macbeth (Tristan Waldron) and Banquo (Jose Angel Donado) come walking through the forest together, fellow warriors journeying homeward in triumph. They encounter the shadow figures of the three witches, and the seduction has begun.
It’s a magical scene, avoiding the problem that has plagued so many other productions of how to make the witches real for the audience while dramatizing their supernatural spell for the warriors. It raised my hopes that we were in for something original, something outside-the-box, something other than another run-of-the-mill recitation of famous lines like “Double, double, toil and trouble” and “A tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing.”
Wrong.
It gives me no pleasure to report that the acting styles are all over the place, and most of the performers are simply not up to the very demanding task of making Shakespeare’s scenes come alive, making his brilliant words sing. There are exceptions. Donado makes a strong impression as Banquo, and Tommy Franklin exudes authority as King Duncan, but both their characters are done away with early in the play. Waldron and Megan Ruble as Lady Macbeth churn up a lot of energy, but they never get anywhere. There’s just no sexual chemistry, and without this element, the scenes between them don’t really play.
The show’s production notes state that this Macbeth takes place “in the desert sometime in the future.” If that sounds fairly nebulous, it’s even more of a headscratcher on stage. (Why the desert? Why the future? None of that pays off in any way I could discern.) Ariel Boroff’s costumes run the usual post-modern gamut, with some characters dressed in military garb, while others like Banquo’s son Fleance (Dashiell Hatem) appear to be waiting for a tennis lesson.
The one “can’t miss” aspect of Shakespeare’s play — the brutal fight scenes near the end — are missed here in a way that verges on satire. Macbeth’s battle with Macduff (Tessa Hope Slovis) is the climax of the play, and even a post-modern staging needs to engage the audience’s imagination with how much is at stake. Quite the opposite happens here. The swordplay stops and the two warriors resort to fisticuffs — except that Ms. Slovis has no idea how to hold her hands for a fight, much less assume a combative stance. The result looks like something out of Charles Ludlam’s Theatre of the Ridiculous, but without the tongue-in-cheek brilliance or theatrical expertise. That is, simply ridiculous.
But the witches are great. And every time there’s a supernatural sequence, the show lurches to life. If only Ms. Escalante could build on that idea and come up with a concept that plays into the text’s narrative strengths. Well, maybe next time.
Art Share L.A., 801 E. 4th Pl., Downtown L.A.—The Arts District; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through Sep. 7. https://artsharela.org/event/william-shakespeares-macbeth. Running time: two hours and 20 minutes with one intermission.
