Thursday 6 November 2008

Macbeth Re-Arisen, Nov 6, 2008 **


Macbeth Re-Arisen
By David Mence by White Whale Theatre
Where and When: Trades Hall, Nov 6 to Nov 23, 2008
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Nov 6, 2008
Stars:**

Macbeth Re-Arisen is a parody of Shakespeare’s Macbeth – with zombies. Yes, Macbeth rises from the dead and rallies an army of the undead to help him retake the Scottish throne. 

The play was first staged at Melbourne University and it still feels like a student production. The script is written with a nod to Elizabethan English and is peppered with quotes from Shakespeare’s tragedies and it would benefit from a vigorous edit, particularly of some of the monologues. 

The dialogue is generally florid and over-written in an attempt to replicate Shakespeare. (Why use one word when you can use ten?) The production is most successful when it does not take itself seriously and lets fly with some mad, slapstick zombie action.

By Kate Herbert

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