Macbeth - A Comedy
Bradley Sawatzky | for CBC News | Posted: July 21, 2017 9:39 PM | Last Updated: July 21, 2017
Pop songs interrupt instead of enhance re-imagining of Shakespearean classic
Rating: ★★
Company: Parkview Productions
Genre: Play - Comedy
Venue: 12 - Asper Centre for Theatre & Film
This production re-imagines Macbeth as a comedy with dance numbers and pop songs from the '90s on up. New adaptations or re-imaginings can be exciting and bring something new to existing work. This one doesn't.
I never imagined that Macbeth could be, or should be, a one-note comedy. More than a few of the pop song interludes are longer than the scenes they buffer. The best laughs of the show were for the slapstick humour and the laughter was loudest from the handful of children in the house.
The best laughs of the show were for the slapstick humour and the laughter was loudest from the handful of children in the house. - Bradley Sawatzky
There are some wonderful displays of physical humour, and it's clear that the performers are having a blast. Perhaps if the energies were re-directed towards a piece to showcase that or the Kids Fringe, as they absolutely connected with the youthful energy in the house.