Throne of Blood

Last night a friend took me to see Throne of Blood at BAM. Directed by Ping Chong, this play is an adaptation of Kurosawa's film that represents the story of Macbeth set in feudal Japan.

The stage production was fucking amazing. The sets and lighting were both austere and majestic at the same time. A screen across the top of the stage was used with filmed images that were beautiful and dramatic and which added a depth to action, making it larger in scale and more layered in meaning.

The actors moved and spoke in a slow, choreographed, stylized way that heightened the drama and created a sense of suspended tension. Particularly adept at this was the woman who played the "Lady Macbeth" character (I don't recall the Japanese name"). Her restrained and methodical speech was chilling.

The high concept drama was a little cold and impersonal, however. This made one moment stand out for me: during the prolonged segment where "Macbeth" accepts the spear from his wife, just before taking it, he touches her cheek. This was exquisitely poignant, especially in the context of the stark, militaristic atmosphere of the whole play.