February 23, 2007
In blood stepp'd in so far
Does this story ring a bell? An aged king is murdered and replaced by a bloodthirsty and paranoid dictator who slaughters everyone who gets in his way. Rebels mass on the border, storm in and topple the tyrant.
Yes - it is the Tragedy of Mengistu Macbeth.
Last week, a newish drama group called Addis Stage got a chance to perform the tragedy in Menelik's Palace, high up on Entoto, overlooking Addis Ababa. I had the small - but key - role of Lennox/Sergeant (you'll remember his three, pivotal speeches).
It was an amazing setting. How often to you get to strut around a historic monument, covered in stage blood and waving a sword?
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church agreed to let Addis Stage stage the play on its property on the understanding that there was nothing anti-Christian in the script. Apparently the thing that they were most worried about was any kissing. The weird sisters, the curses, the blood-letting and the shrieks of tortured souls were clearly less of a problem. After all, the good guys won in the end.
Best Macbeth line by far:
Light thickens, and the crow
Makes wing to the rooky wood.
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse,
While night's black agents to their preys do rouse.
Macbeth Act 3 Scene 2
Posted by aheavens at February 23, 2007 12:09 PM