A Synetic Macbeth: Silent, Stunning, Sensational

To Shakespeare purists, presenting Macbeth without the Bard's words would seem to be sacrilege. How could any Shakespeare play be silent? Well, tonight The Synetic Theater, which is being heralded  as the nation's premier physical theater group (a claim I highly support), produced a performance that should silence such thinking.

Now, you rarely think of a play in mathematical terms, but, if you were, a simple review formula for Synetic's Macbeth now being performed at their Crystal City theater might look something like this ... movement + music + mime - words = a marvelous, magical Macbeth.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the story or has chosen to forget high school English all together, Macbeth involves some witches, a good man gone bad, a witchy wife, some knives, some killings, a ghost, a suicide, some more killings, an outed candle, some more killings and finally, a final killing which produces a severed head and a new king.

Now, it may seem ironic to be reviewing a play without words with words, but let me at least try, even if the old adage you've got to see it to believe definitely applies here.

Macbeth was the 1st of 3 Shakespeare plays in Synetic's (a combination play on the words synthesis and kinesthetic)  Speak No More: The Silent Shakespeare Festival.  In the playbook, Synetic Theater founder, CEO, and artistic director Paata Tsikurishvili addressed the silent Shakespeare problem thusly: "For me, Shakespeare's plays are written in a universal language. In fact, the text serves a basis for all our work: it provides us not only with the story, but with the incredible imagery, archetypes, and metaphor, all of which are heightened to create an immersive stage experience that we feel in our bones."

Well, Mr. Director, not only was your stellar cast's performance immersive, it was downright mesmerizing.  In fact, I found so many hallucinatory highlights that I will borrow from the Bard and single out just 3 (you know, 3 witches ... 3 highlights).

• the innovative, modernizing opening scene where 3 white-clad religious leaders (1 Catholic, 1 Jewish, 1 Muslim) pray and cradle a giant globe of the Earth until they are permanently dispatched (read that throat-slit) by 3 black-clad witches who emerge in smoke and darkness from under the stage. By the way, I am still trying to figure out how characters can slither like snakes while standing. Kudos to the choreographer. 
• the brilliant suggestion/seduction scene where Lady Macbeth (the director's wife, Irina, who also serves as company choreographer) convinces Macbeth (Irakli Kavsadze) to kill King Duncan and take his crown. Here was definitely a case of the eyes have it.
• the juxtaposition of mimed comedy and violent action that vividly captured the swaying moods of Macbeth's oncoming madness in the Banquo's ghost banquet scene.

Finally, let me list 3 images from the Scottish play (and yes there were bagpipe tones in the superior soundtrack lest we forget that fact) that will remain with me for a long time:

• the use of bullets to represent the points on the king's crown
• the cigarette holder wielded by Lady Macbeth during the banquet scene
• and, most chilling of all, the perverted, inverted downward thrust Zieg Heil-like hand signs used to pledge loyalty and fealty (however temporary) to the 3 kings.

This is a repeat performance staging of Macbeth.  When it was originally presented, Synetic captured  scads of Helen Hayes awards.  And, based on opening night, if this version doesn't win additional accolades, then life truly may be "a tale told by idiot."

Travelers' Tip :
If you are reading this, get to DC to see a Synetic production. As far as Silent Shakespeare is concerned, Macbeth runs until Oct. 2.  It will be followed by Othello from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 and Romeo and Juliet from Nov. 25 until Dec. 23.