**This article contains spoilers.**
Parkland College Theatre began its closing weekend of “Mac Beth,” adapted by Erica Schmidt and directed by Matthew Green, on Friday. The play is a modern rendition of the classic tragedy and contrasts contemporary attitudes with the Renaissance work.
This version of “Macbeth” took place in the singular stage set of a trash-strewn junkyard, surrounded by an equally littered chain-link fence.
An old couch with a dirty tarp draped over it, a rubber tire and an abandoned plastic drum were some of the props utilized to enact the story. A folded-up lawn chair served as a throne for the characters of nobility and a plaid blanket served as a royal cloak.
The play began with a brief silence as the characters, clad in school uniforms, nonchalantly entered the scene from various directions. At center stage, a student, played by Courtney Malcolm, entered with earbuds in her ears.
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Near the beginning of the play, as Macbeth delivered an emotional soliloquy, the rest of the characters lounged on the couch, passing around a family-size bag of chips and practicing their swordplay with Twizzlers.
The play was spoken entirely in Shakespearean English, with the occasional humorous injection of modern language or technology.
The three witches — played by Courtney Malcolm, Grace Taylor and Destiny Jording — performed the epochal “double, double, toil and trouble” incantation.
As the trio pantomimed adding strange substances to the rubber barrel — a makeshift cauldron — one asked the other where they got the barrel, and the other responded, “Um, from the science lab?”
The interplay between seriousness and comedy was woven throughout the play. In the midst of a particularly intense scene, a character whipped out their cell phone and took a cheerful group selfie.
Lopsided pieces of foam and cardboard became swords, and baseball hats and drawn-up hoodies served as character transformations. To demonstrate an invasion, MacDuff, played by Rebecca Strom, brandished the flag of St. George, while matter-of-factly shouting “I am going to England!”
Kimmy Schofield, a Parkland Theatre Productions veteran, played Banquo. She projected her lines with deliberate enunciation and communication to the audience.
Banquo’s son, Fleance, played by Destiny Jording, had his youth comically represented by Jording acting on their knees and childishly clinging to Banquo. Later in the play, Schofield pivoted and transformed into the ghost of Banquo, who haunted a traumatized Macbeth.
Julia Clavadetscher, junior in FAA, balanced the humor of the play and the inner conflict of her character, Lady Macbeth, acting as a foil to Macbeth.
Guinevere Brown, senior in FAA, played Macbeth and balanced the unconventional setting of the play’s adaptation with the raw, emotionally intense writings of Shakespeare.
While the rendition is notable for its humor, the cast — especially Brown — reminded many of their acting prowess. Upon news of Lady Macbeth’s suicide, Brown’s character fervidly convulsed onto the ground.
“I love how thought-provoking it is but also stunning,” Brown said about the production. “It will definitely scare you a little bit in the right way and make it will, make you think, y’know? I like those.”
As a facet of the adaptation, this play featured a modest yet impactful all-female cast.
“It was so great,” Malcolm said. “It was very fun, being with a bunch of women and living this together. It was such a collective ensemble experience, so this play needs everybody to function.”
Parkland’s interpretation of “Macbeth” garnered positive reviews from audience members as well. Laura Alcentera, a community member who has been involved in local theater for some years, said she found the show refreshing.
“I love a nice, tight 90-minute Shakespeare play,” Alcentera said. “Can’t go wrong there.”
