Shakespeare continues to provide many a theatrical company around the world with material for production – and not just because the work is copyright free! His work touches on the aspects of being human which are common to all cultures and provides unlimited opportunities to joyously explore and experiment with dramatic form.
That Scottish play has provided Ninefold (a Sydney-based theatre ensemble and one of PACT’s resident companies for 2018-19) with the material for Wyrd: The Season of The Witch which subverts the story to create a narrative “that follows the rise and fall of a powerful warrior identified only as ‘Our Lady.’” It is a tightly choreographed production with strong theatrical imagery and choral work. Highly imagined and stylised, it is also very much intentionally an ensemble piece so to isolate performances would be counter-productive.
Liam O’Keefe as lighting designer should be particularly pleased with the results of his work, which certainly beautifully realises the script of Kathryn Roberts Parker (Dramaturg) and Shy Magsalin (Director).
But … the whole piece is performed in an unvaried pace and volume. There is no light and shade, and the characters rarely make eye contact with each other; The Lady’s journey, her “o’er vaulting ambition” is not established and the journey to self-realisation is lost in the cleverness of the production. Shakespeare works because it is essentially, human. Wyrd removes all elements of humanity so it becomes difficult to engage with the protagonist. It is a pageant, not a play.
The audience are the other half of the theatrical equation. We want to be engaged, to feel, to identify, to be drawn in to what is happening. As visually interesting as this production is, it misses the point. You can be imaginative and creative and out of the box and still entrance your audience.
And an extra note. This play has a lock-out but the audience who were on time were kept waiting, without explanation, for 15 minutes for latecomers. And there were no programmes – even the simple b&w prints from Officeworks.
Kate Stratford – Theatre Now
Wyrd: The Season of the Witch
Wyrd: The Season of The Witch draws on the tropes of urban legend to rework Shakespeare’s Scottish Play.
20 – 30 June 2018
Wed – Sat 7pm
Venue: PACT
Theatre Company: Ninefold
Duration: N/A
