INTERVIEW: This ‘Macbeth’ is set in post-apocalyptic, post-gender society
Photo: Unsex Me Here: The Tragedy of Macbeth stars, from left, Kimberly Singh, Kristen Vaughan, Ivanna Cullinan, Kiebpoli Calnek, Alex Guhde and Moira Stone. Photo courtesy of the company / Provided by Katie Rosin PR with permission.
Unsex Me Here: The Tragedy of Macbeth is a new adaptation of the famous play by William Shakespeare. In this version, director Maggie Cino has set the so-called Scottish play in a post-apocalyptic, post-gender society that has been devastated by a hurricane. The few survivors are living in medieval circumstances, according to press notes, and they must construct a new world order.
Interestingly, although none of Shakespeare’s pronoun usage has been changed, actors are portraying characters that don’t necessarily match their pronoun usage in daily life. “The characters will be portrayed by the actors as their preferred gender identity in their current physical body,” press notes indicate.
Starring in the play is Moira Stone as Macbeth and Mick O’Brien as Lady Macbeth. They are joined by a company of actors who are finding deep meaning that ties into 2019 society within the Bard’s words.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Cino, the director of the piece, which is presented by The Brick Theater, Inc. and Obvious Volcano. Performances continue through Nov. 23 at The Brick. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How would you describe the unique setting of this adaptation of Macbeth?
The production takes place after a near future apocalypse. When I was in middle school I was obsessed with a book called The Girl Who Owned a City. The premise was a disease wiped out all the adults, and the children had to figure out how to survive on their own. A similar idea was explored more recently and in an adult context in Emily St. John’s book Station Eleven.
The play itself takes place in the Middle Ages, and the characters are always talking about the weather. They talk about how strange it is, how unusual and sinister, and how it’s affecting everyone’s behavior.
Our concept is that a climate disaster wiped out much of the population, much of them cis gendered men. The people who are left are surviving in small communities that work like small medieval towns. The setting choice was meant to honor the text while exploring the story in a way that feels immediately relevant.
Could you talk about the interesting casting and pronoun usage amongst the actors and characters?
There is a plot/backstory explanation for the pronoun usage, and there is a more philosophical explanation.
The plot/backstory is that this particular community made the decision that they would change how pronouns were used in order to upend the pre-apocalypse power structure. This society has decided cis gendered men should be referred to as ‘she’ to establish their less powerful place in society. All other people are referred to as ‘he.’ But in the end, their attempt to subvert previous power structures by simply inverting them is not successful.
The more philosophical exploration has to do with the power of language. Macbeth has traditionally been seen as a play about gender subversion, but subverting something means taking the usual power structures for granted. I wanted to take it one step further. We are living in a world where we are finally starting to explore how much of gender is social construct, not biology. I was curious about what experience the audience would have if I put actors in these highly gendered roles that did not conform with their real-life gender expression but did not change the language.
What do you feel this adaptation says about society in 2019?
I recently heard an interview with a writer who was saying the next frontier of depictions of women in media is women as assholes. Being an asshole, to me, is much different than being a bitch. A bitch is petty, scrounging for scraps, trying to make the best of limited circumstances and survive on what’s available. But an asshole wants something bigger than themselves. They want something that is beyond the scope of what the world tells them they can have, and they want it whether or not they ‘deserve’ it.
Regardless of the pronouns we use, the character of Macbeth in this production is expressed through the body of a cis woman. In most stories women usually rescued from their bad decisions, and if they are not the consequence is social shunning.
A story where a woman wants something far outside of the scope of what she can reasonably expect to have, try like hell to get it, make a series of diabolical decisions and have the final reckoning be only with herself — not with what the world thinks of her or expects of her — is not a story I’ve seen told in a way that has any resonance with me, and that’s a big part of why I wanted to do this project.
What has it been like working with this ensemble?
It’s been incredible. A combination of old friends and new. As one of the performers in the production said, it’s a murderer’s row of talent.
When did you realize you had the talents and interests for directing?
I spent much of my life wanting to be an actor. In college I took a directing class that I enjoyed more than I was expecting to. After the final presentation the TA took me aside and said, ‘I don’t know why you’re wasting your time with acting. This is your art form.’ And I was devastated. I thought that meant I wasn’t good enough to be an actor. The idea that I could and should have ideas, put them forward and take on position of leadership was incomprehensible to me. Decades later I directed a play as a favor to a friend and realized that I was happier than I had ever been. I flashed back on that conversation, and something came into focus.
There are many reasons I wanted to direct Macbeth, but one of them is that I’ve always seen this as a young male director’s play. This is the play so many male friends of mine fell in love with at an early age and cut their directing teeth on. The idea of approaching it as a no-longer-young woman still relatively new to this art form was an intense part of the appeal of working on this script.
Does the company use the word ‘Macbeth,’ or do they prefer ‘The Scottish Play’?
We consistently and cheerfully use ‘Macbeth.’ To me, this play is less about fate than about the power of suggestion. You can choose to believe the play is cursed. Or you can choose to believe this is a tremendous opportunity to look at our assumptions and by observing them break them open. We’ve definitely chosen the latter.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Unsex Me Here: The Tragedy of Macbeth, directed by Maggie Cino, plays through Nov. 23 at The Brick in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
