In the Spring (semester) 2010, of my content, I took a Shakespeare course at the Center for Worker's Education, a satellite site for City College. I shared my love, frustration and interest of the literature of the infamous William Shakespeare with a dear friend of mine. During the course of the next few months, our Saturday mornings were reserved for discussions, questions and readings of the plays and Sonnets of Shakespeare. We would revel in the plot twists, language, history and poetry of these writings. Since then, numberless private jokes, quotes, nicknames and such were saturated with 16th century wit. So when I looked up from my cell phone one day on the A-Train and spied the monopolized advertisement for the Shakespeare festival at BAM Harvey, I knew what I would do next...and with whom I would do it with...
So, fortune smiled on my life the following Spring, and I caught the last show on the last day of the last leg of the Macbeth Tour showcasing the dynamic acting genius that is Cheek by Jowl. Declan Donnellan directs this surprisingly lithe adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy. Crossing the seas, Cheek by Jowl hails from their rehearsal space in London to perform in Paris, Milan, Berlin, Madrid and Hong Kong before landing in New York at the esteemed BAM Harvey Theater in downtown Brooklyn.
The sensual performances of both leading man and lady are palpable; one is held in the patter and clenches of their celebratory kisses, as the two connive at murder . William Keen plays the valliant war hero, humble husband and slowly evolving murderous Macbeth, who receives a profesy told to him of greatness and power, delivered by three horrid witches rife with mystery and damnable equivocation. The transformation of the character is under Keen's absolute control as his booming, flippant speeches and masterful trembles work up a sweat that he later wipes or slaps off. Keen acts in every breath; you believe his every word as he pivots, struts or raises an eyebrow- the man is in character on a cellular level. The inner conflict raging within Macbeth is convincingly demonstrated through the physical war beseiged throughout Keen's body. The audience is enrapped, watching a man go mad by the ambitious quenching of his blood lust. Anastasia Hille delivers a playful Lady Macbeth, flirting with evil principalities before blooming into a woman truly at home with plotting murder. Hille portrays the hypocrisy of Donnellan's Lady Macbeth as she sings with joy over premeditative schemes, teases her husband for his compassion and hesitation at killing, or weeps when Macbeth temporarily shrinks from assassinating the present King Duncan in order to overleap his authority and create his own time to reign over Scotland. Murder consummates the political ambition of the Macbeth household as the two conspire in loving poses, dancing while harmoniously planning the King's untimely death in each other's arms or laying atop one another. The intimacy displayed between Keen and Hille is redolent of two friends who change the nature of their relationship and consequently, the course of everyone's lives within the play.
Cheek by Jowl, an idiom for "close together," embodies the spirit of the company and the stregnth of their collective skill. The patience to act in inches, reminiscent of Japanese Butoh theater, demands the discipline of the actors as well as the attention of the audience. The exits and entrances are unobtrusive, time-conserving and very, very quiet. Each step is arguably a dance, alternating between movements so slow they become dreamlike, and in an instant, so quick that you get the sense that you have somehow missed something between blinks. It is fairly easy to believe that they share the same breath. The stillness is just as heavy as the riveting action. Hallucinations of daggers and pantomimed props create the sense of an alternate, intangible world upon the stage. Yet, the physicality of Cheek by Jowl rivals the imagery of this production. From the simple incorporation of wooden boxes resembling a moving Birnam wood forest, to their simultaneous kneeling stances while pledging loyalty to an ever changing king, the company epitomizes a single entity- a sole sentiment. There are surprises and mutations within the Donnellan adaptation: the three visible witches are switched out for two arbitrary voices emanating from the standing collective of actors onstage. Kelly Hotten plays the porter at Macbeth's castle and gives a "cheeky" modern spin to escape from the darkness of the tragedy-her performance was anchored by booming applause. Cheek by Jowl members randomly serve as a silent audience to the play itself, witnessing the deeds, acts, asides and deaths occurring throughout the production, providing the mood of an unspoken play within a play.
After three curtain calls the audience let the company end their tour after an amazing performance. My companion and I walked to a nearby restaurant where we supped and discussed the pros and cons of the differences and improvements from our perspectives. We both agreed on the expert skill of this production. What started as a Saturday morning conversation stemming from a class is evolving into a lifetime appreciation of literature and theater. Next stop...King Lear!
So, fortune smiled on my life the following Spring, and I caught the last show on the last day of the last leg of the Macbeth Tour showcasing the dynamic acting genius that is Cheek by Jowl. Declan Donnellan directs this surprisingly lithe adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy. Crossing the seas, Cheek by Jowl hails from their rehearsal space in London to perform in Paris, Milan, Berlin, Madrid and Hong Kong before landing in New York at the esteemed BAM Harvey Theater in downtown Brooklyn.
The sensual performances of both leading man and lady are palpable; one is held in the patter and clenches of their celebratory kisses, as the two connive at murder . William Keen plays the valliant war hero, humble husband and slowly evolving murderous Macbeth, who receives a profesy told to him of greatness and power, delivered by three horrid witches rife with mystery and damnable equivocation. The transformation of the character is under Keen's absolute control as his booming, flippant speeches and masterful trembles work up a sweat that he later wipes or slaps off. Keen acts in every breath; you believe his every word as he pivots, struts or raises an eyebrow- the man is in character on a cellular level. The inner conflict raging within Macbeth is convincingly demonstrated through the physical war beseiged throughout Keen's body. The audience is enrapped, watching a man go mad by the ambitious quenching of his blood lust. Anastasia Hille delivers a playful Lady Macbeth, flirting with evil principalities before blooming into a woman truly at home with plotting murder. Hille portrays the hypocrisy of Donnellan's Lady Macbeth as she sings with joy over premeditative schemes, teases her husband for his compassion and hesitation at killing, or weeps when Macbeth temporarily shrinks from assassinating the present King Duncan in order to overleap his authority and create his own time to reign over Scotland. Murder consummates the political ambition of the Macbeth household as the two conspire in loving poses, dancing while harmoniously planning the King's untimely death in each other's arms or laying atop one another. The intimacy displayed between Keen and Hille is redolent of two friends who change the nature of their relationship and consequently, the course of everyone's lives within the play.
Cheek by Jowl, an idiom for "close together," embodies the spirit of the company and the stregnth of their collective skill. The patience to act in inches, reminiscent of Japanese Butoh theater, demands the discipline of the actors as well as the attention of the audience. The exits and entrances are unobtrusive, time-conserving and very, very quiet. Each step is arguably a dance, alternating between movements so slow they become dreamlike, and in an instant, so quick that you get the sense that you have somehow missed something between blinks. It is fairly easy to believe that they share the same breath. The stillness is just as heavy as the riveting action. Hallucinations of daggers and pantomimed props create the sense of an alternate, intangible world upon the stage. Yet, the physicality of Cheek by Jowl rivals the imagery of this production. From the simple incorporation of wooden boxes resembling a moving Birnam wood forest, to their simultaneous kneeling stances while pledging loyalty to an ever changing king, the company epitomizes a single entity- a sole sentiment. There are surprises and mutations within the Donnellan adaptation: the three visible witches are switched out for two arbitrary voices emanating from the standing collective of actors onstage. Kelly Hotten plays the porter at Macbeth's castle and gives a "cheeky" modern spin to escape from the darkness of the tragedy-her performance was anchored by booming applause. Cheek by Jowl members randomly serve as a silent audience to the play itself, witnessing the deeds, acts, asides and deaths occurring throughout the production, providing the mood of an unspoken play within a play.
After three curtain calls the audience let the company end their tour after an amazing performance. My companion and I walked to a nearby restaurant where we supped and discussed the pros and cons of the differences and improvements from our perspectives. We both agreed on the expert skill of this production. What started as a Saturday morning conversation stemming from a class is evolving into a lifetime appreciation of literature and theater. Next stop...King Lear!
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