Shogun Macbeth

Hey, I am not very skilled with computers so when I started the post I inserted my text into it. Sorry everybody, and I’ll post it again.-James Ganley

The most striking scene in Shogun Macbeth is the scene in which Lady Macbeth and Macbeth first talk of the plan to kill King Duncan, thus usurping the throne. The scene was intriguing as it brilliantly illuminated the relationship between the two on stage. In Shakespeare’s rendering Lady Macbeth has a powerful hold over her husband so much so that she can push him through cowardice and consciousness to partake in deeds for political gain. It is understood that this strong hold that Lady Macbeth has over her husband stems from a psychosexual relationship. Shogun Macbeth illustrates this relationship as the two engage in a long, hot, kiss that ends with Macbeth being parked atop Lady Macbeth wanting to take this act a step further. Later in the scene, Lady Macbeth continues to gently kiss and rub her husband along his entire body. These overtly sexual acts shocked the reserved theatre audience while also representing the true nature of the married couple’s relationship that underlies the play.

The scene is also striking, as it is the first of many times that Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s manhood, thus essentially forcing him to act beyond his own true set of morals. At one point in the adaption while the couple is sitting side-by-side, Lady Macbeth takes the sword rapidly from her husband’s holster. This act is alarming as it reverses gender roles and puts Lady Macbeth in a position of power and superiority over her husband. The scene foreshadows future times when Lady Macbeth will mock her husband’s manhood and the scene is also symbolic, as she has essentially and symbolically left the natural soldier disarmed and helpless against her attacks on his morals.

Shogun Macbeth surprised me in many ways. Honestly was slightly unsure of how a Japanese interpretation of a Shakespearean play could be performed skillfully, and yet it was one of the best performances that I have ever attended. The setting is small and more casual than in other theaters, yet the show carries a powerful punch. The actors were extremely passionate, it is there authoritative presence that brings the play to live. The wardrobe and stage setting truly made you feel as if sitting in a theater in Japan. It is hard to pick a favorite scene, I found the interpretaion of the witches and the covincing performance of Lady MacBeth most intriquing. Yet the beginnning, the inroduction of Shakespeare’s three witches and their famous lines of “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” is the scene that underwent the most transformation. The Japanese witches were dressed in simple robes, their faces were white but their teeth a dark black, brown. This effect along with the long colorful wigs showed an ugliness that Shakespearean witches were to posses. The scene was done in Japanese and although I could not understand their exact words, their body language and movement sent shivers done my spine. I found that first scene to be incredibly creepy and thus very successful. It set up the environment and mood for the entire play, and introduced three vital characters that were an almost constant throughout this play.

Shogun Macbeth was definitely an alternative way to experience Shakespeare. Most of the play stayed very close to the original plot line using only certain cultural aspects and Japanese titles to alter the script. One of the most compelling scenes involved Macbeth’s questionable sanity after the murder of Banquo and failed attempt to kill Fleance. While the scene remained very close to the Shakespearian one, one exception was the lack of stage presence for the ghostly figure observed by Macbeth. Usually, some form of a ghost is portrayed on stage. This scene may have been difficult to comprehend without the physical presence of the ghost if one was not familiar with the play. Still, the scene was remarkably well acted, portraying Macbeth’s guilt-ridden descent into madness after his continuous spree of murders, which despite their darkness have not managed to provide him with security as shogun. His fear, anguish, and desperation are all illustrated perfectly. Lady Macbeth’s character is also well performed as she desperately attempts to salvage her husband’s dignity and mitigate his obviously teetering sanity to the surrounding samurai and servants. One can truly see how this manipulative woman is grasping at straws to hold the place she all but sold her soul for. Overall, the play featured strong performances, particularly on the part of Macbeth and his lady, as shown by this scene.

Shogun Macbeth successfully melded the classic story of Scottish power struggles and the traditions of Kamakura culture. The Pan Asian Repertoire uses shoguns for Kings, Ninjas for Knights and three weird yojos instead of witches. Yet one of the more subtle differences is how Japanese attitude toward status and power infiltrates into the staging of key scenes. Traditional Western sentiments and even theatre technique teach that the character with higher “status” stands taller, commanding attention as the focal point of the scene. In Shogun Macbeth, however, the characters yielding the most power tend to take the opposite positions. In the infamous scene where Lady Macbeth seduces Macbeth to ultimately kill Duncan, she begins by humbly kneeling in front of her husband and from that stagnate position draws the lustful Macbeth to her. She remains in that “low” position while she questions his manhood, convincing him that usurping the crown is the right thing to do. Instead of standing up or attracting him with lavish hip movements, the guile Lady Macbeth draws him in from this “lower” position on stage. Similarly the three yojos, coming from a “higher status,” taunt the guilty Lady Macbeth, eventually driving her to suicide. Although Lady Macbeth stands in the center, traditionally a location for the high status, the witches crouching in the corners continuously mock her. The yojos crouch and crawl, yet still command influence over all the characters they encounter. Lady Macbeth draws her husband in from the submissive kneeling position. This reversal of traditional positions of influence into the foreign Japanese culminate an overall uniquely creepy performance.

Shogun Macbeth not only brought out the tragedy Shakespeare wrote centuries ago, but it added an element of comedy to it. Having seen movies and other plays display different renditions of Macbeth, this by far was my favorite. One specific scene that caught my attention was when Banquo and his son were praying to the Buddha. I liked the fact that they also incorporated an element of religion in the play. While the show was going on, the Buddha was always present. This could have been because of the small venue the play was held, but I began to contemplate as to whether or not there was a symbolic meaning behind it. The Buddha could have been there to remind the characters and even the audience that not matter what happens you must accept the hand you are dealt in life just as the Buddha himself said it. Another scene that I thought about afterwards was when Macbeth was seeing the ghost of Banquo at his dinner party. Macbeth was entertaining his guest when a light on the stage representing the ghost of Banquo would flicker every once in a while to show the audience that he was there. As Macbeth went on a rampage with his extreme outbursts every time he saw the ghost of Banquo, Lady Macbeth was very calm and had no look of worry on her at all. In other plays of Macbeth that I have seen, Lady Macbeth was very nervous and stuttered when she saw her husband act this way. I assumed that this was a characteristic of many Japanese people; being calm and collected in an unexpected situation.

Shogun Macbeth had a lot of little nuances I liked and some that I disliked, though overall I enjoyed this creative translation.

Dislikes:

• Although I know a certain Mary Williams is going to disagree with me, I thought the removal of Banquo’s ghost from dinner haunting scene was a poor decision. In some of the other adaptations I’ve seen of Macbeth, the ghost scene has been one of the most frightening and powerful in the play. The visual presence of Banquo’s specter usually adds an eerie psychological intensification. It brings us into Macbeth’s scorpion-ridden mind, and we see the ghastly ways guilt and paranoia act upon it. Still angry about this one.

• The actor playing Macbeth was only slightly above average for me. He captured the bold Macbeth and the crazy Macbeth well, but I would have liked to see the vulnerable Macbeth come out a little more. His performance fell flat on some of the most potent scenes, including the dialogue about murdering Duncan between him and Lady Macbeth toward the beginning. Here Macbeth is usually meant to come across as weak, meek, and disturbed – yet I didn’t feel the actor was very strong on any of these. Anyone can do brazen or crazy, but vulnerability takes more acting grit.

• For much of the show I felt the lighting could have been a little dimmer, so as to amplify the spooky atmosphere. Moreover, some of the lighting was a tad too diffused at parts. (A lot of the lighting tricks I did enjoy though; see below.)

• Where was “double, double toil and trouble?!” It’s one of the most spine-tingling lines when shrieked out by all three wishes. Did it really have to be replaced by Japanese?

• The fourth act’s witch cave scene was a little underdeveloped in this takeoff – and I was annoyed by this because it’s my favorite bit. Although I didn’t mind that the director/writer took out Hecate, I disliked that the witches’ song was eliminated. Sure, it isn’t quite necessary to the play, but it’s always entertaining to see, and it enhances the work’s creepiness. Also, it was a tiny bit strange to see the witches throw invisible props into an invisible cauldron. The set designers clearly went all out with the light-embedded stage and big ol’ Buddha, so I didn’t see why they couldn’t have included a few minor items like a cauldron (or fake blood for that matter). Furthermore, I would have preferred to see better versions of the apparitions than simply the witches getting into elaborate formations. The bloody child is always a sinister image to see. And the line of eight kings with the ghost of Banquo was completely taken out. I will now predict the blog response for this gripe, as well as some of my others: “[text text text] minimalism [text text text].”

Likes:

• The choreography in the action scenes was spectacular. Particularly commanding was the Macduff manor invasion scene. The assassin dragging his sword along the floor while the others surrounded Lady Macduff was so menacing and perfect.

• The costume designers were really spot-on, especially with the weird sisters. Their powdered white faces, along with their wigs white outfits, gave them a very nightmarish quality.

• Speaking of the weird sisters, their performances were all fantastic. The one played by the male actor was my favorite – he nicely captured some ghoulish, jerky movements.

• I liked the ironic twist in including the witches (presumably using supernatural disguises) as Macbeth’s servants.

• Some of the lighting stunts were very well done. In particular, I admired the way the scene would become washed in red when a character was murdered. The way “Biwa Hoshi” (read: “old wise man”) was lit from underneath, with shadows playing across his face, was intriguing as well. I would have liked to have seen this trick a little more.

I will now end my rant, being far past the 200-word requirement.

As I was unable to attend “Shogun Macbeth,” I watched “Throne of Blood,” the movie upon which “Shogun Macbeth” was based (aside from the novel). Here’s a link to watch it online: http://www.asian-horror-movies.com/tob.php

“Throne of Blood” is, in my opinion, the best rendering of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The manipulation of Washizu, Macbeth, by his wife, Asaji portrays the exact situation I had in my mind when reading the scene. Asaji is the personification of the little voice in Washizu’s head that tells him that it’s his fate-given right to kill the Lord. She consoles him when his loyalty is clouding his vision, she emasculates him when he’s beginning to regret his actions, and overall she just eggs him on toward the deed. She reads him like a book and he allows her this because he loves her and because it is obvious that becoming Lord has crossed his mind in the past. Their dynamic is exactly like the dynamic between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She gives him the courage and motivation to go through with everything that he does.
Overall, Akira Kurosawa, the director, did a great job in welding the actual storyline with the Medieval Japanese hierarchy. Though he didn’t portray many of the bloody scenes that were in the play (i.e. Duncan and Banquo’s murders), his depiction of the aftereffects of it, as in Washizu’s states of shock and frenzy, brought out the emotions he would have felt during the acts. From all the Japanese movies that I’ve seen, I believe it’s normal to maintain a visage of self-control no matter how badly things go. Washizu stays looking controlled even when he’s losing every ounce of control he has, and he manages to show emotion through this facade and I think that this makes the entire play.

Shogun Macbeth was very compelling in some aspects and equally uninspiring in others. The performances of Lady Macbeth and the three Yojo (who replaced the witches) were the most interesting, characterized by the scene where Lady Macbeth gives her “unsex me here…” speech. Normally she is alone and summons the dark and negative spirits of the world asking them to discard her womanly nature and to make her instead a manifestation of violent action and dark ambition. In Shogun Macbeth the three Yojo slithered their way onto stage and circled around Lady Macbeth in a very animated motion, controlling her limp, puppet like body with a twirl or flick of their hands. Their added presence on stage in Shogun Macbeth successfully shows the intensity and physicality of the transformation Lady Macbeth undergoes to prepare for Duncan’s murder and was one of the most chilling scenes of the play.
Among the less enjoyable aspects of Shogun Macbeth was the behavior of Macbeth himself. I agree with Tyler that he lacked the important vulnerable, human aspect that Macbeth should have, but I’m not willing to blame that solely on the actor. It seemed to be the intention of the play (perhaps the directing) to portray him as a less stable or heroic being all throughout the play, not just after he has murdered Duncan. Macbeth’s character and his relationship with his wife for example was more sexually based, characterized by his actions towards a young female servant in one scene and by his constant state of being kept in a sexual daze around his wife in several others. I feel like the original Macbeth was much more dynamic and had a deeper love for his wife.

Shogun Macbeth made a slight change in the dinner scene where the recently deceased Banquo comes to haunt Macbeth. Macbeth holds a banquet in his castle after he has become Shogun. All of his invitees sit on the floor in a traditional Japanese style. When Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth to sit down, he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his place at the table. He begins to scold and yell at the ghost, only visible to him. Macbeth’s insanity convinces the guests to leave, but Lady Macbeth assures them Macbeth has similar fits all the time and tells them not to worry. He calms down after a while, but starts up again to the point where Lady Macbeth cannot control him and he forces her to tell the visitors to leave.
Banquo’s ghost represents the accumulation of Macbeth’s vicious deeds finally breaking him down mentally. The Shogun Macbeth version of this scene differs slightly in the fact that the ghost is not visible to the audience. In the original story, the stage notes display the entrance and exit of Banquo’s ghost, so in many performances the ghost actually appears on stage. However, this interpretation really displays Macbeth’s agony because not even the audience can empathize with his vision. He truly looks insane, and this take on the scene really made Macbeth’s character seem even more hopeless.
This play was very enjoyable overall, although at times the diction was a bit hard to understand and spoken too quickly. Other than that, Shogun Macbeth proved to be a great twist on one of my favorite classics.

“Shogun Macbeth” was striking and intriguing. The idea of it alone drew in the viewers of various ages to come and watch this great adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The adaptation by John R. Briggs was unique and a bit comical. There where Shoguns and Ninjas that flipped during the intense battle scenes. Sparks flew as each person battled for their lives. Aside from the lights and sounds adding to the intensity of all the scenes throughout the play, the scene that struck me the most was the scene with Lady Macbeth or shall I say Fujin Macbeth. The famous soliloquy by lady Macbeth proclaiming: “Out, damned spot; out, I say. One, two,—why, then ’tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Act V, scene i, lines 30–34)This quote is from the original play but in Shogun Macbeth, few words were altered but the same concept was kept. Fujin Macbeth exclaimed words loudly in a fierce like passionate way. She becomes overwhelmed by the murders and exclaimed how the blood cannot be rid from her hands. The guilt is catching up to her which eventually leads her into madness. The way the stage was set up was the three yojos was bowed down in a way on the floor around her as she stood in the middle. She wore all white and was also pale in the face. The one white light shined on her to bring the attention to the center of the stage. It’s a bit ironic how the light that shined on her was white and her nightgown was white because usually white means purity and Fujin Macbeth was far from it. The lights dimmed out and the next scene appeared. This time Fujin Macbeth appeared in the corner of the stage, picked up a dagger, and stabbed herself in the neck. The bright lurid red light penetrated her helpless body and this red light indicated her death. This subtle yet important scene led way to the eventual demise of Macbeth.

One of the most striking scenes in Shogun Macbeth for me was the scene where we saw Lady Macbeth slowly descend into madness. I have never seen a stage adaptation of the original Macbeth so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this scene originally, much less a Japanese interpretation of the scene. In my English class, we almost glossed over this scene so it was interesting to observe how Lady Macbeth’s mind slowly leaves her while the three yojos slowly surround her. Even a subtle change in costume shows that they hold a supernatural hold on her and are possibly making her become one of them. Throughout the whole play, the yojos’ supernatural powers were even more pronounced, even coming into the final scene. I wish that most of their dialogue wasn’t in Japanese but it definitely added a air of mystery to what they were plotting. I enjoyed most of Lady Macbeth’s scenes especially her suicide and departing to the other world. Even though her character’s intentions weren’t’ the best, I still felt sympathy as she drew the blade into herself. While the character of Lady Macbeth was fleshed out, I felt like that treatment could’ve been given to the rest of the cast. Even though Macbeth is the title character, he takes a backseat role to his wife and the yojos. Perhaps this is intentional, seeing as how these characters fuel his motives. Intentional or not, Macbeth really needed to reclaim his play.

I know that these posts are supposed to go beyond like and dislike. But I just want to say that I didn’t like Shogun Macbeth. Maybe because I don’t have the encyclopedic and exhaustive knowledge of Macbeth minutiae that some of my classmates possess (O Tyler Alterman, you literary maven), I didn’t pick up on the “magnificent subtleties, poetry and mystery, vicious violence, new truth, freshness and spontaneity” that John R. Briggs claims to have brought to this play. Rather, it seemed forced and confusing, and I wanted to tell the whole cast to stop yelling all the time. But it is also easy to be a, erm, “hater,” as I’ve heard our nation’s youth refer to malcontents in that curious parlance of theirs. So I’ll give it a chance for the sake of a post, I just want everyone to know that I’m not happy about it.
In the dinner scene with Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the other assorted lords, Macbeth’s frantic insanity becomes inescapably present and terrifying. This is accomplished through sudden shocking changes in lighting that cast the entire set in lurid and jarring washes of color while Macbeth is in the throes of his terror. The audience is forced to observe the scene through the same warped filter that Macbeth sees through. Further, the rigid and repressed formality of the sake drinking ceremony serves as a counterpoint to Macbeth’s manic shrieks and attacks. While the demure servant girl cowers and the guests fall back on their knees, sending white sake bowls sliding across the stage, Macbeth lumbers across the set and lashes out at imaginary foes. Throughout the play, this was the only effect of setting the Scottish Play in feudal Japan that was clear to me. The decorum and order of the traditional society is subverted and attacked by the increasingly insane Macbeth, making the violence of his thoughts and action all the more raw and striking. Aside from this however, I sometimes thought they just put on silk robes and called the dagger a “shoto.”

Shogun Macbeth was an outstanding performance that I had not expected. The statue of the Buddha in the background was very realistic and it created a very religious scene; however, it was a paradox of the tragedy because every sinful act happened in the front. The part that I found to be the most interesting was when the witches appeared on stage. They are called “Yojos,” which according to the Pan Asian Repertory, “representations of ancient Shintoism and Buddhist demons known as obake, creatures with spiritual and supernatural powers.” There were three Yojos who wore white robes and had their faces painted in white. They differed in the color of their wigs including red/orange, black, and white. Each one of them was distinct which reminded me of the original play in Macbeth. One is a “Graymalkin” from the cat family, “Paddock” from the toad family and else. The witches play a role in the performance because they have powers that affect human behaviors. Telling Macbeth about the prophesy for the rank of shogun raised his greediness toward higher status which eventually led to his own downfall and of his wife as well. The witches kept reappearing throughout the play and they spoke some words that I could not comprehend. They could interpret as evilness in human nature. Once Macbeth died, the witches disappeared, which is the end of malice. The Yojos impacted on the play, creating the setting, the mood, the language in the beginning and end of the performance.

Overall, I enjoyed Shogun Macbeth. I thought the actors gave powerful performances, and I liked watching Macbeth staged in medieval Japan. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the play was the three Yojos. Not only were the witches intriguing to watch, shrieking and dancing around on stage, but they played the ultimate role in Macbeth- they set the entire play into action. What was interesting was that toward the end of the play, the Yojos were more than just witches. One of them was leading a guilt-stricken and insane Lady Macbeth. They were in the scene with Macbeth, right before the invasion of the castle. One of them was even dressing Macbeth for war. While at first I was confused as to what role the Yojos were playing, I think the intention was to show that while they characters are still responsible for their own actions, everything is ultimately controlled by the Yojos. After all, they are the ones who plant the idea of becoming a Shogun into Macbeths mind, causing him to murder Duncan. Perhaps this shows that it is this manipulation of mind that caused the tragic events to unfold. In this sense, the Yojos have control over the characters, for without their prophecy, the murders would not have occured. Whether or not the Yojos are supposed to be physically there, they are still controlling the plot. This is one element that was was not present in the original play.

I have never studied Macbeth in depth previously in high school. Therefore, it would be an understatement to say that I did not know what to expect. Reading a synopsis beforehand gave me a gist of the plot and underlying themes of the main character’s unyielding ambition and the story’s overall violence; however, I felt that with entering with an unbiased mind I was able to discover and interpret the play as if it were to be naturally performed in a Japanese setting.



The scene where the three yojos, encompassing Yujin Macbeth, were controlling their victim’s movements, without touching her, began to insinuate blame on these three supernatural forces for the terrorizing behavior of Yujin Macbeth and her husband. As an audience member, I saw the play’s female main character spin in helplessness, like a rag doll on a rotating table, but feeling utter pity for her loss of control and sanity. One can also feel this sympathy for Yujin Macbeth because of her innocence she claims from the beginning of the play; the beauty that Asian culture possesses in the show is best revealed in this scene, where the character spins delicately to reveal the shape of the beautiful kimono she wears, which stands out against the white cloth that cover the yojos.



Ultimately, these feelings of mercy take a turn when Yujin Macbeth finally convinces Macbeth to murder Shogun Duncan. We then begin to question if our sinful actions can be justified by visions that evoke reasons of fate or if they are illegitimate methods that characters, like Macbeth and his wife, utilize to recklessly establish selfish power.

For me, it was difficult to find a place where the show significantly needed to instill Japanese culture into the storyline for purposes to enhance the play. However, I did find its appropriateness mostly in the costume design, particularly in the women. The scene where Yujin Macbeth is spelled upon by the yojos calls attention to her vulnerability at that moment, highlighted by her innocent grace and beauty as an asian woman. Her costume contrasts with Macbeth’s red-colored outfits later on, representing his downfall into insanity and violence.

The scene that I found most intriguing in both “Macbeth” and Throne of Blood occurred during Act III Scene IV of the play. In this scene, Banquo’s ghost appears and haunts Macbeth during a banquet, while the guests are oblivious to what is occurring. The scene is not only one of the more entertaining segments in the play, but was one of the more memorable moments of the movie. During this portion of the movie, Washizu becomes extremely terrified and shouts, “You are Miki” to the spirit that is occupying Miki’s seat. The audience becomes aware of the subject of Washizu’s terror as the camera view slowly expands and the image of the ghost becomes visible. The ghost remains peacefully seated as Washizu runs throughout the room shouting incessantly, until his wife yells for him to calm down and explains to the guests that he has drunk too much. Confusion is evident Washizu’s face as he returns to his position and tries to convince himself that he is drunk and imagining the appearance of a ghost. Lady Washizu states that she is hopeful that nothing bad has happened to Miki, and states that enemy raiders in the province could be the reason of his absence. Shortly after, the ghost reappears and Washizu tosses his plate at the phantom as he stumbles across the room. He draws his sword and shouts “ If you hate me, why not draw your sword?” Washizu then proceeds to attack the area in which he sees the ghost, as the guests rise, startled and confused. His wife again explains to the guests that he is drunk and leads them out of the room. After the guests have left, Lady Washizu chides her husband by stating, “ Well done my lord, you want to rule a nation but a ghost frightens you.” The scene ends with a warrior entering the room with the head of Miki wrapped in a cloth. This scene was adapted very well in the movie, because it portrayed the guilt of Washizu, which was also felt by Macbeth, but did not occur in the same manner or dialogue as the movie. For instance, Macbeth is told of Banquo’s murder at the beginning of the scene, while Washizu was informed at the end. The Japanese touch is also portrayed as Washizu grabs his samurai swore to attack the spirit, while the honor of battle throughout cultures remains intact as Washizu first challenges the spirit to a fight, then proceeds to attack. The strength and determination of Lady Macbeth is clearly seen in Lady Washizu, as both women deride their husbands for acting foolishly because that “is not how a ruler acts.” I felt this scene embodied the movie as a whole, a successful adaptation of Macbeth with a mixture of Japanese culture with different dialogue and acting.

Shogun Macbeth was a spectacular and unique rendition of the popular Shakespeare play. Set in feudal Japan, it added a different flavor to the typical Western settings of “normal” plays. For the most part the production was enacted the same way the play was written, but with the addition of some Japanese flair, incorporating the language, the customs, and garments of the Japanese. The Japanese aspect I liked most was the portrayal of the witches. They were non-conventional forms of witches called yojos, with white robes, white painted faces and hair fit for a demon fox, rather than the standard black robe, pointy hat, wart-on-the-nose witches. Their presence was spooky in a way that was effective in raising alarm and fear within the audience. They moved and danced around disturbingly and made bloodcurdling cries that gave me goose bumps. They were much more effective, in my opinion, than the witches that are usually portrayed in other reproductions of the play. For a nonprofit company, the production had pretty impressive stage effects, with the different colored strobe lights, the fog machine, the illuminated Buddha, and the eerie branch on the side. I also loved their intricate costumes, one because the kimonos had many beautiful intricate designs, and two, because it was cool to see Macbeth enacted in a Japanese setting.

In terms of the way they decided to reproduce the play, I think it is significant that they included the sexual relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This was something put in that might not have been obvious in the play itself, but was adapted here to show a possible interpretation of the relationship between the couple. Also, the actor that played Macbeth was a lot more hysterical and jolly than I imagined. Though his performance was comical, the actor was less brooding, malicious and corrupted as he is portrayed in the play. I felt like this toned down the wickedness and immorality that is supposed to characterize Macbeth’s persona as he gets consumed by ambition.

One of the major ideas of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is that it is our choices that define who we are. The character Macbeth sets himself up for his eventual downfall when he, goaded on by his wife, chooses to act on the witches’ prophecy and kill Duncan in order to assume the throne. Lady Macbeth also chooses to set store by the prophecy, and is, in fact, the guiding hand in Macbeth’s ascension to the throne, pushing him to murder Duncan. Banquo, on the other hand, who has just as much of a stake in the prophecy as Macbeth, chooses not to act on it in any way, claiming, rightly so, that belief and action to set the events of the prophecy in motion will lead to nothing but harm. Each of these three characters chooses to act or not act on the prophecy in some way, but it cannot be said that the witches actually cause the events of the play to unfold. The characters make their own decisions. This is one of the main points of the play.
In Shogun Macbeth, however, this whole idea of our decisions shaping us is, unfortunately, lost in the telling. In what I consider to be a most erroneous decision by the director (or perhaps the writer who adapted Shakespeare’s work), the witches are far more present, and have a much greater hand in shaping the events that unfold. They are physically present, though sometimes in disguise or invisible, in many scenes that they have absolutely nothing to do with in the original play. They are portrayed almost as puppeteers, plucking the strings of their human marionettes, leading them to their eventual downfalls. One scene in particular that struck me was Lady Macbeth’s famous “unsex me” soliloquy, in which she declares that she will put aside all of her feminine weakness so that she can help her husband become king, no matter the cost. In Shogun Macbeth, however, Lady (or “Fujin”) Macbeth is by no means alone during this speech. The witches surround her, invisibly. They guide her every action. When they spin their fingers, Lady Macbeth’s body is physically spun around in circles. As they move, she imitates their motions. It is almost grotesque, how like a puppet she is to them. It is obvious, then, that in this interpretation of Macbeth, the witches are literally controlling the characters. There are further instances of this throughout the play, where the witches control and deceive Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, most notably in Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene, where, again, she is merely unconsciously imitating every action the witches themselves perform. She is reduced from an exciting, villainous, even feminist character into merely a doll, a toy for the amusement of the witches. No longer is Macbeth about choices…it becomes just another clichéd tale of supernatural possession and destruction. Perhaps this worked for some people. Perhaps it added an exciting layer to the story. For me, however, Shogun Macbeth was deeply disappointing, at least in this respect.

As Macbeth is one of my favorite plays, I was really curious about how a Japanese interpretation of it would be produced. The three Yojos were terrifying and accurately depicted the supernatural in Shakespearean plays. That being said, I was not mad about the set design. While I understand the limits of the stage, I agree with Tyler in that I just wish they had utilized props more often. The red light that went off whenever somebody was murdered was an interesting touch, though. I don’t have any complaints about the acting, but the performance that stood out the most was that of Yugin Macbeth. The actress that played her was particularly convincing throughout the play, from her seductive manipulations of Macbeth to murder Duncan, to her violent breakdown and eventual suicide. I also liked the fact that Shogun Macbeth remained mostly true to the text, while still managing to incorporate Japanese culture into it, such as Macbeth asking for sake instead of wine. The comedic relief of the porter scene was also nicely conceived. My favorite effect of Shogun Macbeth was when the room would plunge into darkness between scenes and Biwa Hoshi would appear. It was a haunting interlude. On the whole, Shogun Macbeth was an unique, enjoyable fusion of two very distinct cultures.

Walking into Shogun Macbeth, I had no idea what to expect from the Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play. As the play progressed, my recollection of the play slowly returned to me as I realized the subtle changes of this production. Although the setting of the play was vastly different from the original, the story line seemed to flow just as easily in Japan, replacing wine with sake, and swords with katana. The most striking difference in this production to me were the changes that were made to the integral witches of the story. In Shogun Macbeth, the witches were dressed in traditional japanese Kabuki theatre makeup and had arbitrarily colored hair and wore white clothing. This mirrors the difference between Japanese and English culture and their beliefs concerning death and goodness. In eastern cultures, the color that represents death and evil is usually white and the color that represents heavenly things is black whereas in western cultures, this is the opposite. This manner of dress that the witches wore reflect the subtleties in the production. Throughout the play, the witches, who were known as yojo, regularly changed their style of dress while performing different acts, such as dressing in shinobi outfits while killing Banquo. This vastly different take on the classic shakespearean play was quite enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to my peers. I believe that this production was more effective in portraying this tragedy than many other productions than I have seen.

As a fan of Shakespeare (I’m a literature nerd) and an Asian horror film enthusiast, I was delighted to hear about Shogun Macbeth. Thankfully, I was not disappointed…to the contrary, this was the best adaptation of a Shakespearean tragedy I’ve ever seen. I loved that every element of the play was adapted to fit with the theme, from the witches speaking in Japanese, to the prevalent use of Buddhist and traditional Japanese themes, to the use of Katanas and traditional Japanese fighting styles.

I was most impressed with both the adaptation and increased use of witches throughout this production. I was SO happy to see the witches portrayed both as comedic and frightening…in many productions, the scary aspect of these characters is lost, and the concept of the witches either seems excessive or silly (Roman Polanski’s film version, for example). The actresses and actor were brilliant with their body movements and speech - they crawled, they enticed, and they brooded, but were bawdy when they needed to be. Unlike Tyler, I thought the use of Japanese added to the tension of the witch scenes. I thought the language barrier enhanced the supernatural aspect of their power - one of the major conflicts in Macbeth is whether or not the prophecy is real, or whether Macbeth makes it real. I loved that this director played on this conflict by using Japanese, thereby making the witches actions largely incomprehensible. Also, while many directors choose to make this point entirely ambiguous, this director enhanced the role of the witches spells, making it clear that supernatural elements were prevalent. I loved that the witches were also the assassins and Macbeth’s henchmen, and I ABSOLUTELY loved their scenes with Lady Macbeth - how they manipulated her without touching her, and how they narrated through the “out damn spot” scene.

Sorry for the late post. I didn’t know I could watch Throne of Blood on the internet and I didn’t have a chance to watch it until today at the Baruch library.

I really enjoyed watching the movie of Macbeth with a Japanese twist. The Japanese take on Shakespeare’s play highlighted an aspect of the original. In the past, when I read Macbeth, I knew that there was an idea of how women could be manipulative, but the idea of a woman’s influence was reinforced in my mind after watching the film. From the book, from what I remember, lady Macbeth had a manipulative hold on her husband, but it wasn’t as strong a hold as what was depicted in the movie with Washizu (parallel character to Macbeth) and Asaji (parallel character to lady Macbeth). In the Japanese film, Asaji is the one to plant the feelings of paranoia within her husband, leading him to question both his superior and his friends. I feel that in the original play, lady Macbeth only acted as the nurturer of Macbeth’s doubts which he formulated on his own, based on the witches’ prophecy.

Another aspect of the movie that stood out to me was the lack of soliloquies. This was the first production of Macbeth I have ever seen, and I expected to see at least the soliloquy with Macbeth - or Washizu - and the floating dagger. This cut-out from the original play would be the only criticism I would have. Not only did they remove a very important feature that exists throughout all of Shakespeare’s plays, but they had scenes that were dragged out for no reason. At times, I was staring at a field of hills with wind blowing up sand for around three minutes at a time.

I was also unable to watch Shogun Macbeth so had to settle with “Throne of Blood.” While the movie embodied the plot of Shakespeare’s text quite well, it was spoken entirely in Japanese and the English subtitles were not the Shakespeare lines but a colloquial dialogue. I felt that this must have been one key difference between the show and the movie. While Throne of Blood was powerful in itself – there are images, sounds and settings that a movie can provide which a play cannot – it lacked the lyric quality of Shakespeare’s language. In a way however, that made the story seem more plausible because the audience feels like it was more real whereas if the dialogue were in poetry, it would seem more rehearsed. I cannot comment for the show not having seen it but the movie was pretty raw. There were a few scenes in the movie where it could be said that they were mini episodes of the plot itself. The banquet scene for example where Washizu loses control and his wife calms him down and feeds thoughts into his mind but then he loses it again. The end scene where Washizu’s soldiers turn on him after believing that he is doomed to fate, where he is showered with wave after wave of arrows just depicted how the cycle of treachery, murder and deception just traps you in. Washizu tried and broke free a few times and it seems as though he would escape but then another wave hits and ultimately one pierces his throat. Whatever the movie lacked in regards to Shakespeare’s poetry, it made up for in symbolism and the expression of Macbeth’s themes.

Sorry for the late post but I wanted to post a response to “The Waves” at the same time and I only just got back from seeing it now.

“The Waves” was performed at the Duke Theatre which is the smallest theatre we’ve been to so far – it only seats about 150 people. Right off the bat I’m going to say that this performance was the most incredible, innovative and capturing of all the shows we saw. It used the combination of acting, media and usage of props and lighting to create the perfect marriage to express the “stream of consciousness” which is what Virginia Woolf’s text is famous for. The whole stage area (and I say area because the center was just a line of black tables and on both sides were two shelves full of props and costumes. It was not elevated) is black and in the center there is a big screen where images were projected onto. The most amazing part of this was that all the images except for the one of the ocean were filmed at the same time they were being projected. The actors used boards with patterns on the back to quickly create the image of a room with just the actor or actress’ face showing. The actors would don only fronts of clothing but the filmed effect would make it seem as though they were completely dressed and being filmed in a world far from the black theatre itself. The way the show was choreographed transferred the audience from oceans, to open air, to dining places, to homes, on trains, in cars, in rain, in gardens and dreams. Every sound barring the ocean waves and some instrumental music was created on the stage. If the text currently being narrated spoke of a person, walking or running, coming in doors or whatever was matched with the sound effect made by another actor banging a door or walking on a platform with microphones amplifying the sounds. It was incredible how synchronized it all was and how the actors were able to assemble microcosmic scenes and disassemble them to form others in the space of a few minutes. This fast paced, smooth flowing performance was really able to embody that “stream of consciousness” way the brain thinks; it was able to move from one place to another, one feeling to another, one idea to another seamlessly as the mind does.

While I enjoy Shakespeare, I honestly feel that the stories are so ingrained in most audience’s mind that when re-told it should be done in innovative and interesting ways. Shogun Macbeth excelled at this. Merely by setting the traditional Scottish play in Japan, the stage, cultural backdrop and costumes were striking. Yet moreso than that, the cliché scenes we come to expect in Macbeth were redone. I understand where Tyler is coming from; the presence of the ghost of Banquo has been effective and creepy in many past performances. But the fact that the audience already knows what Macbeth is supposedly seeing allows the director to be creative—and I am very grateful that he was. By removing Banquo from the scene, the focus is on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. His antics seem all the more unnatural and crazed when we see him interact with and become frightened of mere air on the stage. We are sympathizing with the other characters in the scene instead of with Macbeth, which is the case in other performances, as we watch the ghost of Banquo with him. It also allows us to see the role of Lady Macbeth in a stronger light because the audience, like the characters at the banquet, must rely on her composure and abilities to persuade in order to justify Macbeth’s behavior. This is in part why Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness was one of the most profound and convincing I have seen yet. I love that the role of the three witches was expanded. Their symbolism in the story of Macbeth is even more apparent when they also act as his servants, and as Lady Macbeth’s dark spirits, and as the murderers of MacDuff’s family. The three of them, as an entity, became even more “creepy” because they were with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth all the way through their descent into madness, making them seem more powerful. Their presence in the scene before Lady Macbeth kills herself, and their deliverance of this news, adds power to Macbeth’s famous speech.

Word Count: 341
Mary Williams

Eliza Damasco
I have never studied Macbeth in depth previously in high school. Therefore, it would be an understatement to say that I did not know what to expect. Reading a synopsis beforehand gave me a gist of the plot and underlying themes of the main character’s unyielding ambition and the story’s overall violence; however, I felt that with entering with an unbiased mind I was able to discover and interpret the play as if it were to be naturally performed in a Japanese setting.



The scene where the three yojos, encompassing Yujin Macbeth, were controlling their victim’s movements, without touching her, began to insinuate blame on these three supernatural forces for the terrorizing behavior of Yujin Macbeth and her husband. As an audience member, I saw the play’s female main character spin in helplessness, like a rag doll on a rotating table, but feeling utter pity for her loss of control and sanity. One can also feel this sympathy for Yujin Macbeth because of her innocence she claims from the beginning of the play; the beauty that Asian culture possesses in the show is best revealed in this scene, where the character spins delicately to reveal the shape of the beautiful kimono she wears, which stands out against the white cloth that cover the yojos.



Ultimately, these feelings of mercy take a turn when Yujin Macbeth finally convinces Macbeth to murder Shogun Duncan. We then begin to question if our sinful actions can be justified by visions that evoke reasons of fate or if they are illegitimate methods that characters, like Macbeth and his wife, utilize to recklessly establish selfish power.

For me, it was difficult to find a place where the show significantly needed to instill Japanese culture into the storyline for purposes to enhance the play. However, I did find its appropriateness mostly in the costume design, particularly in the women. The scene where Yujin Macbeth is spelled upon by the yojos calls attention to her vulnerability at that moment, highlighted by her innocent grace and beauty as an asian woman. Her costume contrasts with Macbeth’s red-colored outfits later on, representing his downfall into insanity and violence.