A Macbeth Song, Teatre La Biblioteca Barcelona Review
Written by Laura for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
A Macbeth Song is an innovative concert-show that combines the aesthetics and style of the Catalan theatrical company La Perla 29 and the music of The Tiger Lillies, a well-known British band.
Three actors take to the stage. Enric Cambray and Andrew Tarbet both share the role of Macbeth in turns (and sometimes, at the same time), as well as bringing many other characters to life and serving as narrators. Màrcia Cisteró is, amongst other characters, Lady Macbeth. Character switches are done via wardrobe changes; all three Macbeths wear luxurious fur coats, while the other characters don’t.
All three actors were absolutely stunning in their roles. Their actions were subtle, as well as ironic dramatism when required. I only have words of praise for their performances. I indeed found some of the English accents to be a bit thick, which made me gaze at the subtitles more often than I would have liked, but the flow of the sentences was not altered in any way; it was obvious that all the actors had worked extremely hard to bring truth to their speaking patterns when playing these roles.
In this adaptation; The Tiger Lillies, Adrian Stout, Martyn Jacques, and Budi Butenop play the role of the three witches. They are constantly stopping the action to focus on a feeling or a specific moment, taking the time to explore and dive deep into certain topics, and torment Macbeth at any possible opportunity with their biting and scornful lyrics. The Tiger Lillies have composed 22 new songs for the show, all very well tied in with the story, and some of them are absolute bangers that had everyone nodding along, and even singing (encouraged by the artists, of course!). I do hope they release the album so that I can listen to the songs on repeat.
A Macbeth Song knew when to be dramatic and serious, but it also ironically made fun of itself and its characters, which made for a fresher, different adaptation that is still faithful to the original while highlighting certain aspects that were perhaps not as prominent in the original text.
The staging was quite bare, making the audience focus on the actors and the band, but at the same time beautifully showcasing certain moments with projected close-ups of the actors, as well as other types of images, such as dancing skeletons. The subtitles were on screens on both sides of the stage, but also projected on stage, which made for a more cohesive experience.
The show is in English, with subtitles in Catalan. The idea is to make a European tour so that the project gains international recognition. Still, I kind of wished that one of the Macbeths spoke Catalan and the other English to showcase the richness of both languages, the Catalan translation, and to play more to the actors’ strengths language-wise.
It is obvious that this show is a labour of love; it has been crafted carefully and with incredible care and respect, while still giving the adaptation its own original flair.
A Macbeth Song will be playing at the beautiful Teatre la Biblioteca, Barcelona, until April 13th. For those interested in the show but unable to travel to Spain, the song Lie Lie Lie has been made available on YouTube here.
★★★★
