Everyone should try to see "The Tragedy of Macbeth" starring Denzel Washington (the deliciously gorgeous evil Lord Macbeth of Scotland) and Frances McDormand (the evil Lady Macbeth) and the goodly Macduff (Corey Hawkins - not on screen enough for me) before it leaves the theatres! It is scheduled to start streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022. We saw it at Angelika's Theatre in Northern Virginia (Merrifield/Mosaic/Falls Church). It is a minimalist production - stripped of busy sets, distractions, shot entirely on sound stages, so one experiences pure Shakespeare, the 16th-17th century Bard himself.
Washington Post, 12/21/21,
Ann Hornaday: "For such a compact and efficient vessel, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” pours forth seemingly endless wellsprings of language, emotion and psychological depth. Joel Coen (Director) has retained Shakespeare’s original text, which presents challenges that only increase as contemporary familiarity decreases; Washington and McDormand demonstrate an ease with Shakespeare’s English that never feels offhand exactly, but also never feels forced or rote. Washington’s facility with oratory will come as no surprise to anyone who saw him in Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing” — not to mention the August Wilson cycle. His authority, combined with his simple presence as one of the last bona fide big-screen movie stars, is enough to make his Macbeth an interpretation for the ages. By the time he delivers Macbeth’s heartbreaking “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” soliloquy, the audience is in the palm of his hand."
Strongly encourage your kids to see the play (though it does contain some violence - it is, after all, Macbeth). [I was forced to go to a Shakespearean play as a child and as an adult would go to Shakespeare's home town in England every 3 years or so just to see a live play there. It's quite addictive!]
Macbeth, tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written sometime in 1606–07, runs only 1 hour 45 minutes!
If you've seen the musical Hamilton, after seeing Macbeth you will better understand Hamilton singing:
“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day. I trust you’ll understand the reference to another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play. They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my folly; I’m a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain. Madison is Banquo, Jefferson’s Macduff, and Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinane.”
Check Wikipedia for more info..
No comments:
Post a Comment