What brings people back to the work of a 459-year-old playwright? Shakespeare’s legitimacy and relevance make for frequent debate among theater makers and audiences, evidenced by course catalogs and panel titles all over the world.
This weekend, Willow Creek Theatre Company’s production of Macbeth, directed by Luke Alexander Brooks, focuses on Shakespeare’s powers as a political writer by interrogating how the Thane of Cawdor loses everything by taking the throne.
Presented on a stripped-down, black and wood-paneled set in Willow Creek’s storefront space (327 South Gilbert St), Macbeth insists on immersion. Delivered in the aisle between the front row seats, soliloquies from Lord and Lady Macbeth implicate the audience in the couple’s scheme to take Scotland as theirs.
Violinist Tara McGovern plays a mix of classical and fiddle repertoire as part of the production, driving the play relentlessly to its bloody conclusion, a highlight of this staging. McGovern, who also plays Hecate, punctuates the Three Witches’ diabolical business, accompanying witchs’ twirling with reels, while icy arco stabs punctuate plot points. McGovern’s presence throughout the action, high up on the set’s second level, indicates that Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, is not just a passive observer in these events, she pushes the story along with music.
As Macbeth, Alex MacKay nicely balances introspection in direct address moments with a certain political phoniness while addressing his compatriots. Lindsay Brooks’ Lady Macbeth provides a strong counterpoint, consistently keeping her husband on track while also pushing him beyond his limits. As Macbeth slowly loses grip after killing Duncan, he becomes bold and sadistic, while a swell of guilt accompanies Lady Macbeth’s downward spiral. Through all of this, a sense of balance remains, a sort of see-saw of murderous intent.
Rounding out the main cast are Becca Warfield as a gutsy Macduff, Alysun Shamburg (who also handled all the fight choreography) as a contemplative — borderline-melancholy — Malcolm and Jasper Rood’s cool-headed Banquo, who makes for a subtle ghost.
Luke Brooks’ production focuses on how eagerly the Macbeths make enemies of friends; when Macbeth casts aspersions on Malcolm’s innocence, Malcolm has no choice but to flee to England. The Macbeths use Malcolm’s departure to cast suspicion on that political rival and boost their own profile. By the end of the play, Macbeth has alienated his whole cohort by way suspicion and accusation. This production drives home how truly alone Macbeth is at the end of his life, barking orders and marching forward bullheadedly. It’s lonely at the top, particularly if you’ve only gotten there by murdering everyone who stands in your way.
Willow Creek makes excellent work of the small ensemble of Daniel Hong, Kaylie McDonald, Connor Norfleet and Jenna Schnellbacker covering a variety of utility roles including various functionaries, the ill-fated King Duncan and Lady Macduff. Period costumes complement the spare set and Jackson Green’s dramatic lights, while Roxy Johnson’s sound design provides a sense of place and time.
Shakespeare’s work remains relevant and potent thanks to its masterful poetry and adaptability. His comedies, histories and tragedies acquit themselves admirably on the most grandiose stages and the smallest storefront theaters.
Willow Creek Theatre Company’s Macbeth makes a case for seeing tragedy as instructive, a method of analyzing both history and current events. In a political and social landscape that prioritizes competition and overzealous grasps for power, Macbeth reminds us that nothing good can come from unchecked ambition. Willow Creek Theatre Company’s powerful and compact production takes no half-measures in portraying the delusion required by the powerful to serve their ends.
Rob Silverman Ascher is an Iowa City-based writer and dramaturg. You can read his other writing at robturg.com.
