An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus by Tiyatro BeReZe is a one-act play that hinges on playfulness and theatricality. The play premiered in İstanbul in 2016 and it has been performed in various theatres in Turkey and abroad as part of international theatre festivals. In this highly acclaimed production, there are resonances of object theatre, clown theatre, buffoonery, and postdramatic theatre. The founders of Tiyatro BeReZe, Erkan Uyanıksoy and Elif Temuçin, perform in Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus as the Macbeth couple, or rather “Macbethgiller”, the Macbeths, as they use the term in their overview of the play.
As could be seen from the title of the play, this adaptation reduces the number of actors to two, yet it does not leave any character in the source text out of the storyline. Directed by Doğu Akal, Erkan Uyanıksoy performs the role of Macbeth (MB henceforth based on the badge on his costume) and Elif Temuçin performs Lady Macbeth (LMB henceforth for the same reason). Even though the title implies that the play only concerns these two characters, all other characters are impersonated somehow with the actors’ change of voice or costume, use of sound recording and props such as pillows and even floor lamps instead of actors.
As could be seen from the title of the play, this adaptation reduces the number of actors to two, yet it does not leave any character in the source text out of the storyline. Directed by Doğu Akal, Erkan Uyanıksoy performs the role of Macbeth (MB henceforth based on the badge on his costume) and Elif Temuçin performs Lady Macbeth (LMB henceforth for the same reason). Even though the title implies that the play only concerns these two characters, all other characters are impersonated somehow with the actors’ change of voice or costume, use of sound recording and props such as pillows and even floor lamps instead of actors.
The playfulness of the production underlines the comic aspect of the Macbeth couple’s gruesome journey. While the story is still tragic, the way in which it is presented to the audience is no longer so. A tragic incident might suddenly turn into a playful scene as in the case of Macbeth taking out Banquo’s bowels and using them as a rope for jumping. Some popular lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth are also used playfully an example of which is seen as MB utters the following words in the toilet: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well / It were done quickly” (Macbeth 1.7.36). While Macbeth in the source text uses these words to describe the adversity of killing the king, MB uses this for the same purpose but doing so when he is in the toilet marks the emphasis placed on the comic effect in this production.
Possibly the most interesting aspect of this reinterpretation of Macbeth is the use of unexpected and seemingly dissonant props and minimal scenery. There are a few props such as a bucket, toilet paper, flowers, and a tarlatan all of which are hanging from the top. All these props are used very creatively by the actors as they use the bucket for washing their hands and MB waters the flower with a water gun in a manner as if he was using a real gun. There is a bed in the centre of the stage and two lamplights on each side, which are used as soldiers in the murder scene. Even coffee grounds are used very creatively by MB as war paint. The pillows on the bed are once used as murderers in the killing scene, and later on, MB uses them as his subjects when he becomes the king. Possibly the most creative part concerning this issue is the use of tomato paste instead of blood. As LMB is the one who plots the bloody murder in the playtext, the performance illustrates her preparing tomato paste to be later used in the bloody scene of King Duncan’s murder.
Similarly, to highlight the playfulness of the performance, instead of using a realistic prop for a phone, they choose to use a meat pounder and a flower for that purpose. Another very interesting use of prop is the neck brace which replaces a real crown. When MB becomes the king, LMB puts a neck brace on MB. What is more interesting is that the neck brace is also used as a toilet bowl in a previous scene. The couple’s lust for power is demonstrated by the couple’s sleeplessness without this brace. In a scene, LMB even sings a lullaby to the neck brace, and they keep it right in their middle as they go to sleep. Some of these props show that the team emphasise the suggestiveness of the performance rather than obtaining a realistic approach.
The scenery and costumes are designed by Lucile Larour and Patricia Ulbricht. Throughout the play, both characters wear daily clothes such as tights and a sweatshirt. However, to illustrate the passing of time in a relatively short production, they change costumes when a new scene is about to start. For instance, after they kill Duncan, LMB puts on the tarlatan suggesting her rise to a higher social position. When they are about to go to a party, which they arrange to celebrate their reign, they put on rather grotesque costumes such as a pink wig for LMB and a yellow one for MB who uses a whistle and a loudspeaker to address his guests. This choice of costume is also quite suggestive in that as they rise to power, they become clownish figures.
The production carries traces of postdramatic theatre specifically with the use of storytelling technique. In the scene that marks the changing of Elif Temuçin into the role of LMB, MB tells the story of how he raced his horse to the audience by enacting the story. We also do not get to see any witches in this production, but MB tells the story of his meeting with the witches in a highly impressive theatrical manner. Another moment that shows the use of postdramatic theatre technique is when MB uses a sound recording while telling the story of how he killed Macduff’s wife and children instead of enacting the scene realistically.
Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus stands out with its use of various theatrical techniques ranging from postdramatic theatre to object theatre. The tragic atmosphere of the source text is retained but it is given in such a playful manner that it gets hard to discuss it as a tragedy. The effort put by the team in the transformations of the number of actors, scenery, costume, and performance is worthwhile, and the play deserves the international acclaim it has received.
Özmen Akdoğan, Özlem. “Will All Great Neptune’s Ocean Wash This Tomato Paste?: Tiyatro BeReZe’s Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus.” Turkish Shakespeares. July 3, 2022.