Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY.
April 25, 2025.
They actually didn’t have electrical guitars and fog machines again in Shakespeare’s day, however audiences acquired to see what would possibly occur in the event that they did with Macbeth in Stride, the brainchild of Whitney White, at Brooklyn Academy of Music in late April. The story of Woman Macbeth, instructed by her very personal self, makes use of each trendy English, precise Shakespearian textual content and a complete lot of rock and roll…and R&B, gospel and rap. She takes the viewers on an internal journey that incessantly broke the fourth wall, and the partitions of notion we could have about ourselves. Or not.
A solid of 5, plus musicians, drive this story of self-discovery via the eyes of a Black lady within the framework of the Shakespearean classicism that initially paid little consideration to both. White wrote and directed this present, in addition to performed the title function of “Lady.” In her model, that which was hinted at within the unique (the battle and stress between Woman Macbeth and her husband) turns into the central theme.
Earlier than the present began, the scene was set with the stage prepared for an epic live performance. Haze hung within the air and the lights onstage simmered low, able to explode. The sunshine design for the complete present was spectacular and supplied a vital, however esoteric ingredient structuring the present when it sometimes meandered. Lady was most actually the star, however her three back-up dancers/witches/guides greater than held their very own vocally and by executing the continual and nearly unnoticeable dance strikes by Raja Feather Kelly – seamlessly built-in into the motion. Man (Macbeth), for his half, was much less of every thing and if the stage doorways opened into Bushwick as an alternative of Fort Greene, he would have slipped unnoticed into the evening, made nameless by the various others identical to him.
Macbeth in Stride tackles an enormous story, and twists it in ways in which, arguably, must be twisted. Listening to the views of different or lesser characters from basic works is a really attention-grabbing pursuit. On this case, I wasn’t actually positive what conclusions had been drawn or what Lady actually needed. It could have been because of the toggle of Shakespearian textual content with trendy English. It was arduous to latch onto a linguistic rhythm. On the eve of my attendance, I felt just like the music was overpowering the vocals to the purpose the place I missed some lyrics. Whereas many of the components of the manufacturing had been robust, I left not having a way of what White was attempting to convey with the work, regardless of the deep expertise onstage. That stated, it was entertaining, enjoyable and a great reminder that listening to the views of these lesser actors of historical past has nice advantage, even when the message is a bit muddled.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
