Sometimes you come across a piece of art that seems handcrafted just for you. For me, a production of Macbeth at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre as part of an eighth grade field trip left a permanent impression; the Scottish play has been the favorite Shakespeare play of this Shakespeare lover ever since. And the Weird Sisters, the mysterious figures who prophesy the events of the play to Macbeth, have always been a source of particular fascination.
So it would seem that What the Weird Sisters Saw, a play originally produced in 2009 by Idle Muse Theatre Company and now remounted with an updated script, was made for me. The play remixes Macbeth from the point of view of the Weird Sisters, following the three women as they experience visions of what is to come. As it turns out, however, even a play that seems perfect on paper can fall flat in execution, and that is exactly what happens here. The result is a lackluster production that fails to live up to its intriguing premise.
The story hits the same beats over and over again. The Weird Sisters cast a spell that allows them to see the future, the visions grow steadily more ominous until one or more of them is threatened with violence, the lights go out, and the sisters return to reality, where they debate whether to go further with their seeing and, despite one’s protests, ultimately decide to do so. This is interesting for a little while, but eventually, one longs for some kind of variation of events. Copious haze and identical lighting looks fail to visually differentiate the visions from reality, and the script leaves it unclear whether the characters are in actual danger when, say, Macduff runs at them with a sword in the world of vision. Additionally unclear is why the sisters are so invested in the fate of Macbeth and the rest in the first place, enough so that they’re willing to (possibly) put themselves at risk to uncover more.
The opaque plot is not helped by the script’s language, which attempts to evoke the general feel, if not the specific meter, of Shakespeare. This is probably a fool’s errand for any writer, but inconsistency between contemporary and Shakespearean speech in artistic director Evan Jackson and Tristan Brandon’s script feels particularly disjointed. Furthermore, What the Weird Sisters Saw would be absolutely incomprehensible to anyone who does not already have fairly extensive knowledge of the plot and characters of Macbeth.
The play is not really helped along by the acting. Shakespeare’s language isn’t handled with any particular care, and there’s a remarkable amount of stumbling over lines. Joel Thompson’s Macbeth is especially emblematic of these issues, delivering his lines with great speed and no real inflection or emphasis. Elizabeth MacDougald has a powerful stage presence as the goddess Hecate (and her costume is gorgeous), but this deflates once she actually starts speaking, as the script forces her to deliver such uninspired clichés as “what will be will be.” Perhaps the sole outstanding performance comes from Brendan Hutt as the Porter, which is infused with both humor and a certain ominous, unspoken knowing.
What the Weird Sisters Saw is a disappointment. What could have been a powerful feminist tale and exploration of the tension between free will and fate instead becomes a slog through a repetitive and clunky script, not improved by adequate but not particularly noteworthy performances. Ultimately, this play, like life in Macbeth’s estimation, is “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Ticket Information
Location: The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Dates: March 15 – April 14, 2024
Times: Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Tickets: $30 general admission, $20 students and seniors, and $20 industry, at the Idle Muse Theatre Company website or via phone at 773.340.9438.
Photos by Steven Townshend/Distant Era.
Splash Magazines
Be the first to comment