Inspired by the groundbreaking Federal Theatre Project’s production, The American Century Theater in Arlington, Virginia, is currently offering up its own take of “Voodoo Macbeth.”
While the production is set in an era and location removed from Orson Welles’ landmark 1936 version, it is getting high marks for pushing the boundaries of theater – something that would have no doubt pleased Welles.
Here is a sampling of what Washington, D.C. area critics are saying about The American Century Theater production, which runs through April 13.
“‘Voodoo Macbeth’ was Orson Welles’s pot-stirring, 1936 adaptation of Shakespeare’s captivating Scottish thriller – pot-stirring because Welles set it not in Scotland, but in Haiti with an all-black cast. NoVa’s American Century Theater takes an altogether new tack, setting Welles’s Haitian production back in Scotland, but in the future, with Christian marines. Confused? So are we, but “Macbeth” and “Orson Welles” are two nouns we can get behind.” – Washington Post
“…this is a production to be seen as an astute take on Welles’s own radical interpretation. It isn’t likely to shock as his did, but it does touch, with rawness and relevance, on all that is unsettled about humans at war. And who can shock a 21st century audience anyway?” – Metro Weekly
“…this “Voodoo Macbeth” is seen in a totally new setting far from the Caribbean. Director Kathleen Akerley creates a gun-toting, knife-wielding, all-male group, taking her actors back to Scotland, where Shakespeare first envisioned them, but imagining them living in 2033. The result is a fascinating and curious combination, a cast of hard-core soldiers who are at the same time deadly serious Christians, a cutthroat band whose exhaustion after 11 years of fighting allows them to put personal gain above allegiance to a once meaningful social structure.” – Washington Examiner
“Although TACT is known for its revivals of often overlooked American plays, this production of “Voodoo Macbeth” is more a tribute to Welles’ creative style rather than a traditional re-staging of his script. In that regard, Jack Marshall’s Artistic Director’s Notes in the program book are a must-read to make sense of this unconventional story line so allow a few extra minutes prior to the show to gain a better understanding of Akerley’s complex vision.” – Arlington Connection
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