Macbeth

Well, maybe this play is cursed.  But only in Polish.

Having seen a variety of Globe to Globe productions, I was fairly confident that taking my mother to a show would be a good experience for us.  The Globe had warned me in a letter that this show contained nudity, violence, and a rape scene.  It gave me the impression of a dark, violent Macbeth, a gritty reality.

This was not reality.  Or if it was, it was a sad director trying to recreate the awesome party he had last month with a half-dozen transvestites.

The problem with this was that the audience was not completely wasted, stoned, or high.  If they had been, they might have enjoyed it.  For me, it was a bad mushroom trip.  A nightmare where the text of Macbeth is violated.  It was a rape scene... they raped Shakespeare's text.

I suppose it needs a little more description.  To say something was unrelentingly awful should require more justification than just my word.

The witches were transvestites, the only slightly clever moment (they are women, but for their beards...).  However, they were present in almost every scene, dancing, staggering drunkenly, flashing the audience, etc.  Lady Macbeth was absolutely batshit from the outset.  I could never tell what any of the actors wanted... their objectives and tactics were completely obscure.  I couldn't see Macbeth's internal struggle.  Malcomb was a violent ass.  And the party scenes went on... and on... Did the director think the overweight men running around in their underwear, resulting in fat bouncing buttocks, was remotely entertaining or contributed to the story of Macbeth?

Me and Mum left at intermission, and I only got that far because I needed a stamp for a free tour.  My soul was bleeding.