Does absolute power corrupt? Ask Chicago Cop Macbeth

The Conspirators have created a most entertaining and accessible method of delivering the Bard to the public, with their version of the Scottish Play – Chicago Cop Macbeth. It is surprising, boisterous and insightful, taking us from belly-laughs to gut-punches over a 90 minute run that whips by in a flash.

Under the direction of Wm. Bullion (Conspirators co-founder and Artistic Director) and The Style coaching of Sid Feldman (Conspirators co-founder and Producing Director), the ensemble’s physical expression is superb. Exaggerated, stylized, movements are punctuated by live percussion (by Tom Jasek on the night of this review). The movement is used effectively; clarifying the meaning of a passage or directing the attention on stage. The Conspirators provide a presentation that is vividly alive, at once larger than life and somehow more . . . true. This is not a production for the overly sensitive. There is loud music and pungent gunfire, flashing light, and lots and lots of yelling. Brace yourself for this and let it all carry you along – the rush is worth every moment.

The Conspirators work exclusively in a neo-commedia manner called “The Style” – a highly theatrical performance mode historically performed by The Actors’ Gang, and New Crime Productions, as developed actors Tim Robbins and John Cusack. Drawing from the techniques of Ariane Mnouchkine, Commedia dell’Arte, and Bugs Bunny cartoons, The Style is characterized by intense emotional states with a punk-rock aesthetic. Elements of The Style include grotesque makeup and costume, stylized movement, direct audience address, and malevolent satire. The Conspirators claim that a critic once called The Style “a coke-fueled clown nightmare.” And The Style works incredibly well on Chicago Cop Macbeth.

If you can’t imagine how The Style fits with Macbeth perhaps it’s because too frequently Shakespeare’s tragedies are drama-washed; as if every scene must wave only the bloody banner, glossing over the witty, clowning banter between the soliloquies. That is not happening in Chicago Cop Macbeth, and the deepest darkest moments of play are all the more hard-hitting for exploding out of the surrounding comedy.

Just as the title describes, Chicago Cop Macbeth is indeed Shakespeare’s classic text, adapted by director Wm. Bullion into the alternate world of modern Chicago cops. Superintendent Macbeth’s paranoid, murderous rampage leads to civil war, where vengeful Macduff, a precinct commander, ultimately defeats Macbeth, restoring the rightful heir, Deputy Chief Malcolm, to the throne. Just like life in 2025, Chicago Cop Macbeth explores themes of ambition, fate and da destructive nature of unchecked power, all in delightful Chicago accents and direct Chicago references.

Travis Barnhart absolutely slays as Commander Macbeth. From the first moment Macbeth takes the stage, his thumbs hooked into his belt loops, his paunch exaggerated by the too-short, too-tight tactical vest (courtesy of costumes by Kit Medic) and his iconic rocking posture, one eyebrow quizzically cocked, Barnhart grabs the audience and never lets go. Barnhart excels in physicality, timing, and breadth of expression. A master of split-second shifts, Barnhart hits all the colors. Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, loyal and neutral in a moment? Barnhart’s Macbeth. Not only does he nail The Style’s comedy, he also fully captures Macbeths sniveling cowardice and vicious conniving. Barnhart’s devastation at the news of his Lt. Commander Lady Macbeth’s death will haunt you, in the echoes of “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” We are in the existential abyss with his delivery of those famous words, “signifying nothing.” If his performance here is any indication, Barnhart will be someone to follow wherever he appears.

Bullion’s adaptation keeps the famous scenes and soliloquies of Lt. Commander Lady Macbeth (Clara Byczkowski) intact. Byczkowski flips between cajoling, seduction and violence in pursuit of Lady Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and she shows us the crumbling control beginning in the bizarre banquet. We can see the power dynamic between the couple shift as Byczkowski morphs from the blood-thirsty fiend who is shockingly terrifying to the blood-haunted sleepwalker.

Commander Banquo (Collan Simmons) lives his slow transition from trusty friend to betrayed target. Simmons’ hunched, bobbing movement recalls commedia characters while giving Banquo an air of obsequiousness and the feel of one already dodging blows. Simmons and Barnhart have an easy rapport as friends, which develops into a palpable tension in their last scene before Banquo’s murder. After death Simmons’ Banquo lives on as a full-fledged clown, haunting the banquet hysterically.

Corin Wiggins as Commander MacDuff is a high-intensity performer, even for this group. Wiggins brought some in the audience to tears as MacDuff broke down while processing the massacre of his wife and young children. In another moment, flying away from the script into the surreal, Wiggins steals the show with an adaptation on ‘Oh, treachery!’

The vision for several under-rated scenes is fantastically realized. The drunken porter is a highlight, with Emily Ruth brilliantly playing Sgt. Porter as a nightclub stand-up, complete with improv to the audience and a highly amusing celebrity impersonation. Similarly, Kelly Opalko scores with her version of the action recap as a gossipy phone call.

Ross (Jensen Hill) gives us the ‘sad clown’ of the raucous circus, bringing a completely different, and fitting, dolorous energy to his character. The counterpoint is welcome and effective. Even Ross’ biggest comedic bit is a perfectly accomplished elongated pause that wrings waves of laughter from the audience, again and again.

The ensemble is strong, with all the players consistently delivering physical comedy, a-typical laughs and moving emotion. The witches’ (Eva Andrews, Jacob Reno, Emily Ruth) cauldron scene is a spectacular example of the interweaving of emotional intensity and surreal comic takes. During the banquet scene we simultaneously laugh at the physical antics of Banquo’s ghost while we fully experience Macbeth’s terror and Lt. Lady Macbeth’s desperation. Malcolm’s (Demitri Magas) single-minded drum to war in the midst of Macduff’s overwhelming heartbreak is a powerful juxtaposition, and Magas’s presentation highlights the inhumanity of Malcolm’s machinations.

Of note is Lt. Commander Lady McDuff ‘s (Ariel Zoromski) scene with her child, Cadet MacDuff played by AL SMART!, re-envisioned as a vaudeville-style exchange. Coming out of this quippy dialogue Zoromski stunningly transforms to recall with painful reality that “I am in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable.” Zoromski delivers this in such a way that all the evils swirling around us – the squads disappearing people, the demonizing of LGBTQIA, the use of federal prosecution against political opponents – land on us in one devastating moment.

The immediacy of the venue allows for incredible intimacy between the audience and the actors. Momentary jokes and expansive comedic interactions bloom in the intricacies of facial expressions and small details of body language. During the scene between Lt. Cmdr. Lady McDuff and Cadet MacDuff (SMART!) the intimate setting allows SMART! to develop a hysterical bit through small changes in facial expression. Throughout the ensemble makes excellent use of the modest stage, which is transformed by lighting and evocative set pieces from precinct, to night club, from great hall to fortress wall with Scenography by Mike McShane and Technical Direction by Kieran O’Connor.

Does absolute power corrupt? Absolutely! Is the theme highlighted in Chicago Cop Macbeth. This is true for unchecked cops, military despots, and would-be tyrant kings. Time for each of us to take a branch of Chicago’s Forest Preserve and charge!

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Soleil Rodrigue

Cop Macbeth runs Thursdays through Sundays at 8PM through June 8, at Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, Chicago.

Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at ConspireWithUs.org

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com