| Macbeth Re-Arisen | White Whale |
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On a foggy crag in the Highlands an old evil is re-awakening...
This November White Whale Theatre is thrilled to present their smash hit Edinburgh Fringe production Macbeth Re-Arisen - recast, re-designed, re-animated and in shambolic pursuit of Melbourne's braaaaaains.
Scripted in superb iambic pentameter by Melbourne's own Shakespeare David Mence this cerebral feast of a tragicomedy is an unholy coupling of high-brow Elizabethan theatre and brazenly B-grade zombie films: ‘a cheeky original production that reflects a new generation of Australian humour' (John Bell, AM OBE).
Macbeth is
recognised as one of the Bard's most grisly tragedies with midnight murders, mangled spectres and gore-soaked vengeance in no short supply. But 26 year old
Northcote playwright David Mence has written a sequel that injects fresh blood
into the well-known storyline by combining it with the decidedly modern cult
genre of zombie schlock-horror.
If it initially appears that the high art of Shakespearean theatre is the
antithesis of 80s schlock classics like Evil Dead 2 & 3 (Sam Raimi) and
Brain Dead (Peter Jackson), think again! Mence says combining the two wasn't a
stretch at all: "Macbeth is the meta-text for the horror genre because it
establishes the twin realms of horror; the supernatural versus the
psychological. These two things can be either schlock (comedy) or terror
(tragedy) in turn and that's the archetype set by Shakespeare that I've tried
to emulate."
International audiences raved about Macbeth Re-Arisen in 2006, and now
that the production has been re-developed, re-cast, re-designed and
re-animated, the passionate young theatre makers at White Whale think Melbourne
will too. Mence says Melbourne audiences have the right knowledge of literature
and sense of ironic humour: "In Shakespeare's time an audience was capable of
bouncing between deep tragedy and comedic farce - the original Macbeth was able
to make disparate elements work together and so too, I hope, will this sequel."
Starring Craig Annis (The History Boys - MTC, The Glass Soldier -
MTC) as Macbeth and Laura Maitland (Melburnalia - WWT, Attempts On
Her Life - UHT) as Lady Macbeth, reprising the role that made one Edinburgh
reviewer declare ‘it may be the first time that I have been attracted to a
thoroughly evil, walking corpse'.
In 2006 White Whale took Macbeth Re-Arisen to the foaming vortex that is
the Edinburgh Fringe. It could have been a disaster: a young unfunded company;
15 actors and 8 crew crammed into 2 small houses; a graveyard time slot; and
1800 international acts to compete against! But the hit Shakespearean
schlock-horror sequel played to sell-out crowds for over three weeks, chalking
up cult status amongst Fringe punters, and carving out White Whale's reputation
as an inspired new Australian company.
The Edinburgh critics said:
FIVE STARS! - Three Weeks
FOUR STARS! - The List
"Macbeth meets Shaun of the Dead in B-grade movie schlock-horror splendour!" -
The Scotsman
"The writing is simply astounding" - Edinburgh Guide
"William Shakespeare is probably turning in his grave but only because he
wishes he could have written it himself" - Three Weeks
White Whale
Macbeth Re-Arisen
Trades Hall, New Ballroom
Cnr Victoria and Lygon Street
8.00pm: 5-8, 12-15, 19-22 November
6.30pm: 9, 16, 23 November (Sundays)
Bookings via Easytix 9639 0096 or at easytix.com.au
$25 (full) $20 (concession) $15 (preview)
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