This Summer I went to a festival of street theatre. This event is a success for many years and is called « Chalon dans la Rue ». It’s a great experience for any person who’s in love with theatre, circus, dance or art in general.

The most sensational show I saw was the adaptation of the famous and damned  Sheakespearian play : Macbeth.

It was played by a company named « Le Théâtre de l’Unité », directed by Jacques Livchine (a commited actor and director, currently writing a blog to inform his public). First, the representation was really stunning for its direction. It happened in a forest, during the night and the audience had to follow an actress (her role consist of guiding the public in the forest, from a scene to another, « because it’s a wild and dangerous place for paltries people »). She often make funny comments, and quote Shakespare all along the play. The only light came from fires, kindled all around the place.

Then the play was full of humour. The guide’s remarks, the expressions of the actors, and even their gesture were some means to make laugh. In the book, during final scene of war, Shakespeare wrote something like « the forest moves with the soldiers » because they are desguised. So the actors arrived with makeshifts costumes in paper, roughly cut on the form of a tree. They comment : « we didn’t have money anymore ».  These moments in the play were fresh and welcome for everybody in the public. It was a delicate mix of tragedy and comedy.

Finally, the choice of the text was clever, and really interesting for a short play. If I could see another play directed by Jacques Livchine, I wouldn’t hesitate.