New year, a new NUTS Drunk Shakespeare - this year, the Scottish Play, M*cbeth - but same old me! I’m back a full year later to review a classic in the UNSW student theatre community - the premise, if you’re not familiar, is simple. Directors Bora Celebi and Gaby Whalland spent two long months coaching their talented cast through the play, and guiding the creative vision behind the entire production as if all is normal. But, there is a twist! - every night, a few cast members are selected to take shots on stage, while the audience watches on, entertained by their tragic attempt to stay on script!
Produced by Sophie Burrows & Jacqueline Long and designed by Zoe Latta, Celebi and Whalland’s post-goth, contemporary, vaguely abstract vision was brought to life captivatingly in the intimate, immersive space that is Studio One. It truly was a captivating multi-sensory experience - the heavy fog, accompanied by the signature too-sweet smell of a fog machine, the stark red and black colour palette.
The standout visual element was without a doubt the lighting, designed by Henri Collyer and assisted by Natasha McBride. Particularly, the eerie purple backlighting of the three witches (Niamh Appleby, Abigail Pierce, and Trinity Ray), the precisely executed silhouette work, wherein the audience sees King Duncan murdered through shadows only, the red and white chasers during battle scenes, and the yellow spotlight under which all soliloquies were delivered. This atmospheric immersion was bolstered by the haunting sound design, created by Oriana Chan and assisted by Jasmine Wastell, which, along with Hailie Brown, Lily Grace, and Kimia Noujoumian’s sets, really effectively created a sense of time and space. I’d also like to commend the costumes team Pierce, Larisa Cronin, and Ana Dougenis, on the witches’ dark, yet whimsical outfits, as well Zoe Latta, Hannah Harding, and Zara Zuccolotto on the gorgeous tear makeup on the ghost of Banquo.
I was hesitant heading into this show, unsure of how the inherently comedic nature of a Drunk Shakespeare would interact with the emotionally wrought tragedy, and I have to say, I came out of it feeling a sense of disappointment - I truly, sorely, wish I had seen it sober, and spent more time with the unadulterated characters, because the actors are phenomenally talented. Particularly, I was captivated by Finn Sargeant as Siward - a small role, but his stoic delivery played back in my mind as I left the theatre-, Dougenis’s distraught performance as Macduff upon receiving the news of his dead wife and child, and, Isla Harris as Lady Macbeth. The latter’s entrancing power dynamic with Ines SL’s Macbeth, and Scottish lilt (at least before she got drunk) was played beautifully, and her slow, subtle decline in sanity contrasted starkly with SL’s rapid loss of control and angry, vengeful, battle with paranoia.
But, of course, this isn’t a regular Shakespeare! It’s Drunk! And like any good Drunk, the shenanigans ensued - the night I saw the show, Harris, Pierce, and Cronin’s Banquo were drinking, and by god was it entertaining! The common theme throughout the night was the giggles - it was like a whole other layer of dramatic irony: one actor would break and giggle, attempting to remain quiet, the audience responded in suit, and the other actors would be left bewildered, until they turned around, saw their castmates in fits, then attempt to stay in character, to varying degrees of success. Notable improvised bits include: Harris winking at the audience while saying “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold,” Cronin’s Banquo stepping into the yellow spotlight and crying “This feels like a TEDtalk!,” and Malcolm’s (Jay Rushwood) complaint
“My dad just died and you’re laughing?”
directed towards a cackling Pierce.
All in all, this show was a rollercoaster of emotion, the whiplash between the tragedy and the comedy was immense, but thoroughly engaging. I’m excited for next year’s Drunk Shakespeare, and I encourage you all to get involved in this brilliant community of creatives if you haven’t already! For example (and I’m totally, completely unbiased and uninvolved here), I’ve heard the NUTS’ Pride and Prejudice (showing in Io Myers 8th-12th October) is a phenomenal show, as well as Kill Climate Deniers (showing in Studio One 29th October - 2nd November).
Divya is a second-year Law/Commerce student, dancer, violinist, lover of all things pretentious, and an amateur at every craft known to humankind. She writes short stories, essays, film scripts, but at her core, she’s just a theatre kid and an aspiring playwright.
