Makbet NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (28)
See it if you want an adventure. The unusual environment emphasizes the ritual & magic at the center of MacBeth. An unique performance experience
Don't see it if you are unfamiliar with Macbeth. The company changes roles using costume pieces to indicate which character they are playing at each moment.
See it if You are interested in a quintessential off-off Broadway immersive theatre experience. Storage container, recycling facility, vodka - check!
Don't see it if you only like classical Shakespeare productions, don't like Brooklyn or sitting on milk crates. But you'd be missing out.
See it if You are into experimental, edgy and intense theatre.
Don't see it if You are claustrophobic. Read more
See it if you like unique playing spaces (a shipping container to house the production & audience), generous small theater companies & u know the plot
Don't see it if you're claustrophobic or a Shakespeare purist. The decision to have actors jump in whenever they wish to take over a role makes it muddy.
See it if You like when classics are performed in unique places and small casts that do a lot. Know Macbeth pretty well and like "old country" music.
Don't see it if You can't deal with actors playing more than one part or when actors interact with audience members. Read more
See it if you are looking for something a bit different. Three actors (aided by 3 musicians) trade off all the roles -- and it works remarkably well.
Don't see it if you are claustrophobic or uncomfortable sitting on a milk crate for 90 mins.
See it if you aren't freaked out by interactive theater, sing-alongs in other languages, and know the story of Macbeth well. The characters switch off
Don't see it if The seating is overturned milk crates (v. uncomfortable for 95 minutes); they feed you vodka & sausage & make you sing. It's quite mystical. Read more
See it if you'd like theater as it once was: a community around a "fire" that relied on words, songs, & imagination (not sets, costumes, celebrities).
Don't see it if you expect a big budget, comfy seats, or consistent accents. You're claustrophobic, sensitive to smells, or not familiar w/the story. Read more
Critic Reviews (16)
"Left me a little dazed...If sweat is coursing down your body while the air is steadily thickening, you are not in an optimal environment for theatergoing...The ritual of storytelling is built into the staging, with some remarkably lovely movement sequences. But 'Makbet' is vastly more interested in magic—the dark kind and the theatrical kind—than it is in the bloody struggle for the crown. So there is no weight to its tragedy. It becomes merely an experiment in form."
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“For me, the moment of revelation never arrived…The biggest problem, I think, is that, even with these technically skilled performers in charge, this production doesn't offer new insights that would justify its radically simplified approach…The necessary dramatic intensity is never achieved and the gypsy atmosphere comes to seem like an affectation; the best thing about ‘Makbet’ is its fast pace.”
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"A very fun and inventive staging...An ensemble of pretty incredible actors take turns spontaneously trading off parts at the drop of a hat...It would be difficult to see this telling of 'Macbeth' without a solid knowledge of the true Shakespearean play...Subtlety is not a word I would use for any of the scenes and performances...I was hoping for more levels and shades...In the end, the story unfolds dramatically, and we are engrossed (for the most part) in the telling of it."
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"You haven’t seen 'Macbeth' until you’ve seen it presented by the Dzieci Theatre...It’s Shakespeare, all right, trimmed to two hours but with all the favorite passages retained. There’s a ritualistic aura about it, enhanced by frequent banging on the container sides and barely ceasing choral moaning and howling. You’ll have to decide how much of this you can take...The unexpected undertaking is an eye-popping-ear-poking confirmation that Shakespeare constructed something not easily degraded."
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"The combination of childish playfulness and the ritualistic approach to theater makes 'Makbet' a one-of-a-kind immersive show...The location, lighting, and props might sound like a scrappy DIY theater, but are in fact scrupulously fitted elements...'Makbet' is not to be missed. The beauty of Dzieci’s production is that, seemingly without trying, it can satisfy the tastes of very diverse audiences...All kinds of folk will find something precious in this experience."
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“The performance itself is intimate and powerful. The actors’ trust in one another is palpable…While the performance is riveting, audiences who’ve had little exposure to ‘Macbeth’ may find the swapping of roles confusing. None of these things should dissuade audiences from seeing ‘Makbet,’ though. Dzieci’s staging of Shakespeare’s play is a truly unique and rewarding venture...Catch it while you can.”
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"The choice to have three actors play all the characters becomes in practice chaotic. Any viewer who is unfamiliar with 'Macbeth' will probably have no idea what is going on...Mitler’s pacing of the performance is also disjointed...Each scene moves slowly and at the same speed as before, losing the attention of the audience and the energy of the play...By the end of the performance, it feels like a miracle to be let out of the hot and stuffy theater container to breathe fresh air."
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"The elemental truth of the Scottish Play is brought forth in a profound, vivid, and completely unexpected way...The setting is more than a novelty, and reflects the company’s mission to authentically engage the community...The masterful use of space, movement, and diegetic music are not a replacement for engaging the poetry of Shakespeare, but rather in addition to...'Makbet' carries through the text’s slumps with the moment-to-moment intensity of the players."
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