We Are Groundlings, All
It’s three days later, and I’m still thinking about Hydeware Theatre’s outdoor production of Macbeth. It’s a very good production, a smart and honest production with a few problems – but I don’t know that I did it justice in a short review. A three-actor version of a Shakespearean play is a bold decision – there’s so much that could go wrong, and a poorly-handled production of Shakespeare is excruciating. And there were definitely elements of Richard Strelinger’s direction that gave me pause. Namely, the lackluster fight scenes, and the use of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of” as a soundtrack for the climactic fight between Macduff and Macbeth. RATM is such a cheesy, short-hand version of “angry political band” that the music is actually offensive, and not in an “I’m outraged!” kinda way; it’s more of a “You could cut this suburban angst with a paper knife” kind of eye-rolling outrage.
But that’s such a small, small portion of the evening.
