Last night, the 2017 PuSh Festival opened at the Vancouver Playhouse with Macbeth, a co-presentation with Vancouver Opera and Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre. As adapted by the Third World Bunfight, this edition of Macbeth brings Verdi’s opera to a daring new interpretation set in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bringing The Scottish Play into modern times, introduces military backstabbing (literally), machine guns, child soldiers, rape, foreign government interventions, and mineral mines to the scene.
The Bard’s story of tyranny, ambition, mistrust, and remorse carry over to this version along with wit, profanity and the amazing voices of the 10 member troupe. Lady Macbeth as played by Nobulumko Mngxekeza brings great charisma and presence to the iconic role and Owen Metsilengs’s Macbeth carried the angst and emotional turmoil of the Scot’s journey.
Fabrizio Cassol’s adaptation of Verdi’s opera, continues the story in Italian with English subtitles. The subtitles seem to have taken some poetic (and profane) license in the translation to get the impact of the story across. The subtitles occasionally distract from the action onstage but just as often the scene and music need no translation, the audience getting carried away on the emotion.
Third World Bunfight’s Macbeth plays the Push International Performing Arts Festival, tonight January 17 plus January 19, 20 and 21 at Vancouver Playhouse at 7:30pm.