Sobriety and simplicity are at the gates of hell

In recent years, we have had few opportunities to see such large and complete collections. Currently, TNC's Els Watson consists of approximately twenty artists. In Macbeth del Lior issued on Wednesday there are 14, also at the capital level. The occasion is worth it. With or without Hamlet's permission, The Tragedy of the Scottish King is among the most interesting of Shakespeare's writings, a compendium of unbridled ambition and evil, but also an exercise in extreme passions that are difficult to tame.

Pau Carrió's presentation embodies all the violence and aggression of the original film. It puts us in a place with a World War II atmosphere. The Scottish nobles wear dark uniforms reminiscent of the Nazi army. There are no swords, but machine guns and pistols, and in the distance we hear pipes as the smoke of the battlefield invades the castles where the events take place. Even the blood that flows copiously is black to stifle any hint of hope in the announced descent into hell.

Spectators who have not had enough of Macbeth as theater and cinema have given us in recent years will enjoy the version, because it does not skimp on subplots or evaporate subplots. Here we find Paul Lopez's measured Macduff, or Joan Amargos' Malcolm full of doubts. Others like Babe Cruise's King Duncan inject a relaxed tone that belies the prevailing sobriety. The attempts at vocalizations and the appearance of witches also belie the strict simplicity that is the main discovery, but they are also an aesthetic trap that leaves little room for more dream-like ideas.

The most difficult bone to bite off is taken by the champions. Laia Marull begins life on a high with Lady Macbeth, more or less, and her energy fades as she descends into madness. At the opposite extreme is Ernest Villegas's Macbeth, which, after its prophecy, is launched into a whirlwind of interpretive power that grows exponentially and leaves little room for nuance.

We know that it is difficult to surprise us with Macbeth, and from the new production of Pau Carrió we will remember the beautiful lighting of Raymond Ríos, a complete deployment of dark resources. Sebastia Brosa's scenographic solutions are a bit repetitive, although the forest scene, which is difficult to achieve in reality, is shocking. But above all, it is worth passing through Lliure to enjoy this wonderful distribution of first swords that will never be repeated again.