‘Macbeth’

The Academy Theatre mixes up their season with Shakespeare’s ‘Scottish play.’

By: Stuart Duncan
   You have to admire the eclectic tastes of the folks at Academy Theatre. Armed with an ambitious schedule of musicals such as Hair, The Rocky Horror Show and Smokey Joe’s Café, it has inserted Shakespeare’s Macbeth into the mix for a two-week run. Director Christopher Butterfield has cut the play in half (it runs just 90 minutes, without intermission, but of course it starts out as Shakespeare’s shortest work anyway). The paring keeps all of the plot, touches on the internal struggles and the fight against madness, and leaves the hints of mysticism and mythology in place. Traditionalists may well be disappointed; modern audiences probably will cheer.
   But it certainly makes things more difficult for the actors since motivations are severely sliced along with the excess verbiage. Director Butterfield has clad his company in black and white (except for Lady Macbeth, who appears in bright red). Thus Macbeth is fully black; the various servants are in black and white and Lady Macduff and her children in pure white. There also is enough gender bending to hurt the proceedings. Donalbain is played by a female and so is Banquo, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Scholars will be happy to tell you that the drama was written at the time of the Gunpowder Plot and that Britain’s reigning monarch (King James) was hailed as "Banquo’s true descendant."
   You may remember from high school that Shakespeare spends much time offering the struggles that Macbeth has with his conscience and with how influential his wife is in convincing him to do the deed. Both Mark Cairns, who plays the title role, and Annina Jordan, who plays his wife, seem to be having problems trying to establish the necessary motivations when the lines have been cut. Ms. Jordan has the easier task, mostly because the playwright has given her a more limited perspective. John Shanken-Kaye plays the King with full confidence, a powerful voice and stature and comes very close to stealing the evening.
   Kate Bailey is most effective in her brief scene as Lady Macduff (like many others, she doubles as a witch and again as an attendant). Christian George has no clue as to what is needed from the drunken porter and badly overacts. Adrian Washington will get more confident as Macduff as the show progresses.
   The switch from popular musicals, however, may not reach its intended — the opening night audience, including the reviewer, numbered seven.
Macbeth continues at the Academy Theatre, 146 Route 130, Bordentown, through April 15. Performances: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25, $20 adv. For information, call (609) 291-9000. On the Web: www.theacademytheatre.com