MacBeth April 19, 2009

'Macbeth,' the "Scottish play", follows the doomed path of the title character, a Scottish nobleman who is encouraged by his wife and a series of inexplicable, seemingly supernatural events to murder the sleeping King Duncan in order to take over the throne. The raw evil of Macbeth's deed and its effects on him take center stage in this deeply haunting play. The Hipgnosis Theatre Company's production of 'Macbeth' takes its inspiration from the original presentation of the play. While most modern productions stage 'Macbeth' in darkness, Shakespeare's King's Men originally acted out this nightmarish play in broad daylight, thus having to evoke the darkness of the setting (and of the plot) with their language and action, rather than with technical effects. Hipgnosis will set its production on a fully-lit stage, relying on its ensemble to execute the challenging feat of creating imaginary darkness. The stark tone of Hipgnosis' production will be further heightened by white vinyl-flooring, fluorescent light strips, a white witches' nest at ceiling level and white tyvek costumes, to propose that, in our urban society, ubiquitous light can be as much a source of terror and nightmare as darkness was in Jacobean England.