'Macbeth' Undergoes A Revision

"Macbeth" - the story of a man's blind pursuit of power that leads to his downfall - is one of Shakespeare's four famous tragedies along with "King Lear," "Hamlet" and "Othello." The Shinhwa Troupe's production of "Macbeth" is playing at Hakjun Green Theater in Dongsoong-dong, Chongno-ku, Seoul, until Dec. 3.

Titled "Macbeth, the Show," this production portrays the ambitious, half-insane title character as a shabby, pathetic man alone in a world of his own. The story's basic structure is still there, but liberty has been taken with the characters and props. The original characters have been boldly "restructured."

For example, there are no sinister witches to predict Macbeth's rise and fall. The audience is part of the show. The seats become the whispering forest, through which the characters come and go. And the actors play multiple roles. King Duncan returns as Prince Malcolm, Banquo as Macduff. A character introduced as the "stage director" is part-narrator, part-host, wandering among the audience to express his views on the whole affair, sometimes comically, sometimes seriously. Props include a radio, a telephone and sirens. Even odd items like an old accordion and a vacuum cleaner are used.

Produced by Kim Dong-hyun of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation, performances are at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

For information call 02-747-5161. To get to the Hakjun Green Theater, take subway train No. 4 to Hwehwa Station amd use exit No. 1.

by Kim Hyun-jung