18 Macbeth’s full of sound and fury but signifying nothing culture
The Copenhagen poST CphpoST.dk
9 - 15 September 2011
americaN dram group
ian Burns Theatre review: ‘Macbeth’ Imaginative in places, this version of The Scottish play is hampered by its tiny stage, ponderous delivery and tame fight scenes
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O PERFORM this actionpacked and darkly foreboding play steeped in supernatural forces outdoors in the corner of a park before nightfall would be a challenge for any theatre company. To attempt to do so with six actors, as TNT Theatre Britain chose to do so last weekend in the Kongen Haven gardens by Rosenborg Castle, showed an admirable ambition but the performance failed to deliver. There were some moments that showed great imagination and what the concept behind this production was trying to achieve. At the outset the skills of all the actors were evident as they portrayed horses grazing and being spooked by the presence of evil incarnate in the guise of the three witches bent on bringing chaos to Scotland. This beginning was gripping and pure theatre, which held a mainly young student audience and yours truly spellbound. But this level of performance wasn’t maintained throughout and only managed to do so on a few occasions. King Duncan played as a blind man made
A witch forewarns Macbeth and Banquo of their destiny – half the cast were involved in this scene
him even more vulnerable and reliant on those trusted to serve and protect him. This worked very well and was the first time I’ve seen that interpretation. Another section that was bordering on brilliant was the Porter scene, in which Shakespeare provides us with a short bit of comic relief amidst all the
bloody gore of ambition and murder and witchcraft. The Porter here is very, very drunk and in the process of trying to seduce a young lass, but is incapable of doing so. This double-act to the tune of the ominous hammering and pounding on the castle gates with Eric Tessier Lavigne and Louise Lee trying to get
into each others pants was funny and well-timed and again showed us the inventiveness TNT are capable of. If only this could have been sustained throughout. Essentially then a school production aimed at a student audience, but I felt that there were times when they underestimated the language skills of
Danish gymnasium students. The pace of the delivery was sometimes ponderous in a “we have to speak slowly and clearly for them to understand any of this” kind of way. Not all the time, but I suggest to TNT that this is a mistake. Macbeth is a well-studied text that can only be served better by more attack. The set and costumes teetered on the brink of being that of a school production. I mean this kindly – as I’ve seen some excellent school shows - but it would have been preferable to have no set at all, than one that wobbles and shakes as the actors use what was a very small postage stamp of an acting area. The Attention to detail is a sign of any production value, even on the strictest of budgets and Macduff played well here by Richard Croughan looked as if he wanted a belt for his heavy broad sword, as he carried it by his waist as if he had one. This looked odd and was actually distracting. For a company that prides itself on movement, the essential fight scenes were extremely tame. Here the actors came across as nervous and underrehearsed as they placed their heavy blunt pieces of metal with enormous care against each other. A few sparks as they clashed and rang out would have been a welcome sign of two warriors fighting for their lives. Finally, as the thin four-man army crowned King Malcolm, it looked and felt like this production of Macbeth was full of sound and fury but signified nothing.
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He is a Danish pop singer. How did he get into the business? His father was the much-loved (in Denmark, at least) singer Tommy Seebach, so it seems to be in the genes. Wow. It must have been great to grow up with a famous dad Not really. His dad was an alcoholic and died in 2003 from heart failure, at the early age of 53 years.
Ben HaMiLton
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quA’S 1997 smash hit ‘Barbie Girl’ has been named the worst song of the 1990s by readers of Rolling Stone magazine. It beat off stiff competition from ‘Macarena’, ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ and ‘Ice Ice Baby’ to top the poll. “Barbie Girl – written by the Danish dance-pop group Aqua – is an incredibly polarising song,” wrote Rolling Stone, conceding that many “loved the over-the-top cartoonish video and bizarre sound of the song”. While ‘Barbie Girl’ was only the 94th best selling single of 1997 in the uS, in the uK it was number two. It has sold an estimated eight million copies worldwide. The song is no stranger to polls – and the results tend to
be mixed. It finished fourth in VH1’s Best Number One of All Time list and 27th in MuchMoreMusic’s top 50 Guilty Pleasures poll, while AOL Radio ranked it the fifth worst song of all time, and Same Difference voted it number two in their ultimate Cheese-Fest Top 20. Barbie manufacturer Mattel was initially not a fan. It filed an unsuccessful lawsuit that it took all the way to the Supreme Court. But by 2009 it had changed its tune and used the song in one of its ad campaigns, with altered lyrics. Most Rolling Stone readers backed the results, although one Scandinavian reader was furious. “Aqua is a Danish band with one Norwegian member,” he wrote. “Please correct it.”
That must have been terrible Of course, in many ways it was, but in one of his songs, ‘Den jeg er’ (2009), Rasmus Seebach says (to his dead father) “promise me you won’t say sorry because you have made me what I am today.” Does he sing good songs? Mmmm ... they’re popular in Denmark, shall we say. come on, surely you can say something good about him! Well, he does dispel the myth that you have to be fantastic looking to make it in today’s shallow world of pop music. He is very ordinarylooking, and in fact bares more than a passing resemblance to the caretaker at my old school. So has he always been a singer? He did start a pop group with his older brother, Nicolai, named ‘G-bach’, and released an album
Nicolas Tobias Følsgaard
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Made of plastic, poll is drastic Who is ... Rasmus Seebach? The Copenhagen Post victoria steffensen Quick Crossword
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in 1999 entitled ‘Skakmat’. They may have been talented musicmakers, but I guess they could have done with a hand thinking of a catchy song title – one which didn’t sound so much like a sexually-transmitted disease. So, he has always been a singer. Actually not. He and his brother quickly recognised their limitations regarding marketing their own tunes and started writing and producing songs for other artists. What made him change his mind? He wrote a song entitled Angel and, seeing its potential, felt it would be awful to sit as a 35-yearold and think “Why didn’t I sing it myself?” And … It was kind of a good decision, because he has gone on to win loads of Danish awards, and is currently trying to break into the international music scene by releasing an album in English.
Across 1. 4. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23.
Sour (6) Scarcity (6) Callow (13) Handbill (7) Dig (5) Walks lamely (5) Viper (5) Allude (5) Entwine (7) Butt of ridicule (8, 5) Stable (6) Flavour (6)
Down 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 13. 15. 16. 17. 20.
A curb (6) Mozart opera (3, 5, 5) Oust (5) Corrected (7) Reminiscences (13) Concealed (6) Angry (5) Dried up (7) Bores (6) Due (5) Count (6) Follow as a result (5)
Post Quick Crossword No 360 Across: 1 Affectionate; 7 Let up; 8 Gross; 9 Rig; 10 Existence; 11 Astute; 12 Lament; 15 Narrative; 17 Eat; 18 Night; 19 Diary; 21 Fearlessness. Down: 1 Appertaining; 2 Cut; 3 Impair; 4 Negotiate; 5 Thorn; 6 Ostentatious; 7 Light; 10 Extractor; 13 Enemy; 14 Middle; 16 Rogue; 20 Ass.