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Thursday, March 28, 2024
drunk shakespeare 1
drunk shakespeare 1

This is not the ordinary tragedy of death, daggers and deception that you snoozed through in 11th grade English.

High Dive hosts Gainesville Alternative Shakespeare’s production of “Drunk Macbeth” — a tragically funny take on one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies. Showings will continue into tonight at 7 p.m. and Friday at 9 p.m. Tickets are available at ticketfly.com for between $4.50 and $8.

Gainesville Alternative Shakespeare was started a year ago by UF graduate, Nick Chinaris. The company’s first production of “Titus Andronicus,” directed by Chinaris, also took place at High Dive.

On Monday night, actors Nick Bublitz (Macbeth) and Katie Haeuser (Lady Macbeth) got plastered before reciting some of the most dark, iconic verses in theater history. Both Bublitz and Haeuser stole the show with their diverse acting techniques as well as their alcohol-induced shenanigans.

To top this, the four sober actors select three audience members to whom they give a cowbell, a whistle and a horn. These audience members have the privilege of stopping the show whenever they please to ask the drunk actors to take a jello shot, a regular shot or chug beer, arousing more chaos on the stage.

Overall, this alternative take on Shakespeare’s tragedy was executed well. The entire cast worked well as an ensemble to bring this story to life by creating powerful illusions while only dressed in black and adding on various costume pieces and props. High Dive is an intimate space that provided a cool, grungy, rustic backdrop for an interactive production.

Bublitz deserves a round of applause for his portrayal of Macbeth. Bublitz’s commitment to the seriousness and the truth of the story, only brought out more comedy when he would forget a line, break character, drop a prop or seemingly hallucinate. This alternative production incorporated farcical elements of the mistakes into such a deep tragedy, and it worked. One particular moment of Bublitz’s that was strong was the “Is this a dagger I see before me?” speech. One could see Bublitz's thought process so clearly; the alcohol only enhanced these scripted hallucinations.

“Some things really aren’t funny until you have an audience in front of you. The audience is what makes the comedy. You may have to do things in a serious way, but it will all come together once you have people watching,” Chinaris said.

Of course, what is Macbeth without his dear Lady Macbeth? Haeuser stole the show. Even while intoxicated, her vocal variety and diction were spot on so the audience could hear every word she said… even if it was not always Shakespeare. Her physicality was engaging and hilarious at the peak of her drunkenness. At one point, actor Afsheen Misaghi had to carry her off stage after she fell and took her shoes off! Needless to say, some shenanigans ensued.

Haeuser’s “Out damned spot!” speech was stellar. One could see Haeuser’s mind ticking ever so rapidly. Her thought process was so clear. Her actions escalating to a scream at the end that did not feel forced. Her choices were clear and informed, adding color to the character.

Bublitz and Haeuser shared fun banter and chemistry on stage as they drunkenly screamed profanities at each other or broke character in the most intense moments of the show. Other notable cast members include Melanie Sholl and Gloria Halsell, who both carried a wide variety of tracks throughout the show, portraying at least four different roles. Sholl’s physicality as Macduff was engaging and alive, as was Halsell’s portrayal of one of the three witches.

The overall vision of the show was ambitious and raw. Could it use a little fine tuning? Sure. Were there messy bits? Yes. However, the entire point of a drunk production is to find the messy comedic bits in something serious. This is exactly the kind of vision Chinaris had in mind.

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“I wanted to cut the script in a way that will allow six people to adequately portray Macbeth and hit all the major plot points,” Chinaris said. “Even though a death in a regular production of a Shakespeare setting might be dramatic and intense, in this, someone dying on stage when they’re drunk or being killed by a drunk person with a foam sword is funny. So, you have to keep the things that bring out the comedy, that keep the plot moving and keep the iconic moments.”

Chinaris’ goal when directing any show is accruing a larger appreciation for theater from audiences, for people to be able to walk away from a show with something tangible and have fun.

“It’s 95 percent rehearsing it as a serious play, knowing that when you introduce the wildcard of a drunk person, the serious becomes funny,” Chinaris said. “The juxtaposition of it makes it that more palatable to audiences.”

Chinaris points out that theater, as well as many of the high arts, are dying. In order to rejuvenate these arts, people need to create art that is more relatable to the millennial generation.

 

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