Porter's Macbeth "a parody"

Incredible! I love any show that begins the moment you walk in the door. Immediately engrossing and fun! It is bare bones theatremaking at its best: actors, their voices, and the text. The original a cappella music creates a rhythm and percussion in the piece, letting our contemporary ears really hear the Bard's words. At the end we hear two essential speeches from the play, and can still feel the weight of the tragedy and guilt. Bravo to Turner and Alive Theatre! I'd see it again!... full review

Tony Frankel, theatre critic for Stage and Cinema here. PORTER'S MACBETH is a one-hour retelling of Shakespeare's Scottish Play from the viewpoint of Porter, a minor character who is the gatekeeper at Macbeth's home. Turner Munch's rapid-fire and inventive direction will surely make this a crowd pleaser, especially for those who accept stylized histrionics and zany antics in lieu of character development and story. Munch surely accomplished his goal of creative and heightened physicality, and there were some truly inspired bits, but his style overtook substance, especially when the hyper and occasionally unfocused high school-like proceedings verged on the annoying and inaccessible. For over 30 years, I have been adjudicating High Scho... full review