Blood will spill in Okotoks this month in a gruesome portrayal of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Dewdney Players Theatre Group is not holding back as it tells the story of a Scottish general who strives to fulfil the prophecy of becoming king – complete with treason and murder.
Sword fights, gore and startling effects are among the tricks up director Katie Fournell’s sleeve as she gets the play stage – and audience – ready.
Performances take place at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre May 10, 11, 16-18, 23-25 at 7:30 p.m.
“I thought, how can we make this scary, and that made me think of the style of theatre called Theatre of Cruelty [developed by Antonin Artaud to shock audiences through gesture, image, sound and lighting] which makes the effects more realistic to get people out of their comfort zone,” Fournell said.
Fournell studied Theatre of Cruelty while attending theatre school at Red Deer College, and was eager to tackle it in her directorial debut with Dewdney.
She’s directed, managed and acted one act shows in the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in past years.
“This is a bit outside of what I’ve done before and definitely outside what the actors in Dewdney have done before,” she said. “Our actors are not confined to the borders of a normal stage. We’re in amongst the audience for most of the show.
“About 50 per cent of the show doesn’t even happen on stage – that’s one of the most interesting and easiest ways to unsettle the audience.”
Although The Tragedy of Macbeth has been adapted and performed thousands of times the past 412 years, the way it’s presented can be unique every time due to the way it’s written, explained Fournell.
“Shakespeare never used a lot of stage direction in his plays,” she said. “There’s hints of things when action happens, but he never actually says ‘this actor is standing stage right when they’re delivering this.’
“The beauty of Shakespeare is almost every time someone takes hold of one of his scripts there’s room for making it your own. It’s all up to the interpretation of the performers and director.”
Fournell is making use of strobe lights and fog, and harnessing the violence of Macbeth with brutal sword fights and plenty of spilled blood.
“There’s so much action,” she said. “It’s a bloody show. By the end of Act 1 two people have been brutally murdered that were completely innocent. It’s easy to follow the energy, thus the language becomes easier to understand.”
Calgary actor Mark Huolt, who’s becoming a Dewdney regular having performed in the one act festival, playing Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood and set to co-direct the coming fall production Plaza Suite, stepped up as fight director and choreographer for Macbeth, in addition to playing the lead role.
While Huolt rehearsed for Scorpio Theatre’s Three Musketeers several years ago, his interest was piqued when choreographers came in to teach fight sequences and he came up with some of his own choreography.
“I found I had a knack for it and I did fight choreography for a number of shows,” he said.
Perfecting sword fights takes constant attention, lots of tweaking and plenty of nurturing, while ensuring the actors are wielding their swords safely, said Huolt.
“A lot of people are used to more of a fencing style where men in tights are mincing about and poking about, whereas we’re using broad swords and
pounding at each other pretty hard,” he said. “You can tell these are angry people trying to kill each other. We have some blood effects that will add another layer of realism to what we’re trying to achieve.
“We’ve got a host of very fantastic actors who have literally bled for this show.”
Huolt, who’s been volunteering in community theatre for 20 years, describes the action-packed show as dark with very little humour.
“There’s some deaths, some pains and a little bit of suicide mixed in,” he said.
“There’s a couple of fun moments in there, but the fun comes from seeing certain characters unravel and seeing how things play out. There’s a lot to see and lots of action.”
As for his own role as the troubled Macbeth, Huolt is having the time of his life.
“I am hated by everyone, it’s awesome,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been wanting to do a Shakespeare piece for quite some time.”
Tickets to see Macbeth cost $20 for adults and $15 for students and can be purchased at dewdneyplayers.com. Those purchased at the door cost $5 more.
