What’s Done is Done
Shakespeare has touched all of us at some point or the other in our lives. But no other rendition of the Bard’s work can leave you as rapt as Rajat Kapoor’s take on Macbeth.
Titled ‘What’s Done is Done’ (a line from the original play, used after ‘the deed’ is done), Kapoor has used the clown motif in the most effective way. He has made optimum use of the clowns, especially his sutradhars, to make a hard-hitting impact on the audience. While the tragic aspects of the play are known by all, the audience is also left letting out peals of laughter multiple times during the course of the play. This is sometimes due to the antics of the brilliant actors on stage or when the actors take digs at the audience themselves, leaving them laughing, albeit uncomfortably.
To make the play more interesting and relatable, Kapoor’s Spanish clowns (one of them played by the inimitable Vinay Pathak) perfectly complement Ranvir Shorey’s Macbeth, or Macabee as they call him in Spanish. The characters are placed such that their location is in sync with the stage where they are performing. So while in Delhi, Macbeth and Banquo are lost on their way back from war and use their GPS to find that they are on Lodhi Road.
The pantomime aspects of the performance might seem improbable to many before watching the play, but at the end of the performance, you will definitely come out praising the genius of Rajat Kapoor. The most unique aspect of this adaptation is the portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Being the dynamic character that she is, Kapoor did not think that one actor would be able to play her. And thus, you can see three different actors playing Lady Macbeth, together creating one whole character.
However, revealing any more details would probably take a lot out of your experience of watching the live performance. If you ever manage to get tickets, that is!
