Macbeth, LiveWire Theater and Chicago Dance Crash, at Stage Left Theatre. Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is so uneven–every scene without the title character is of dubious interest–that an hour-long condensation like this one is not unthinkable. What’s strange is that director Chris Arnold retains the tedious Malcolm-Macduff scene and cuts Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” soliloquy. Given the performances, however, it’s just as well. Minimalist in ways that LiveWire never intended, this mini Macbeth is more convincing in its spectacle than its speeches. Aiming for a kind of ritualistic movement, the ten actors–decked out in black tops and plaid skirts and pantaloons–are best when fighting or carrying corpses. At times this production feels like a fever dream where the only light is heat, reducing the Scottish tragedy to one crazy mood swing after another.
