Honey, Rupesh Tillu shrunk MACBETH! The Shakespearean tragedy transforms into an hour-long comedy in Tillu's MADBETH, a valiant, one-man effort. The Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting student puts the classic on the back burner as he introduces elements of bizarre comedy into his performance. The play is funny, no doubt, but it's not Shakespeare.
Tillu plays Beth, whose girlfriend and dog have been murdered. His doctor has prescribed acting as therapy, so Beth takes up the play MACBETH to express himself. Don't expect to witness eloquent dialogues, or even much of the script at the performance; most of it is tossed out of the window. Expect to see, instead, a new technique of speech - Fontaine de Aqua - that requires a lot of spitting. It's funny, although gross too.
Since he's the only actor on stage Tillu can, and does, take off from the 'script' (not just MACBETH, but from his MADBETH too). Like when a mobile phone rang in the audience, despite all warnings to switch off devices, Tillu spent a good two minutes making the audience member feel 'special'. He gets back at latecomers too with a minute-long recap accompanied by a round of applause. Those walking in 10 minutes late are advised to go home and read the play, fittingly.
Tillu does a good job of holding attention. He brings in audience members to play characters in the play and makes it interactive. Tillu has some mad stuff planned for his audience, so pick a seat in the front rows at your own risk. The gentleman, who played the King of Scotland for a good 10 minutes, deserves a special mention here.
Yet, the play goes from laugh out loud highs to grimly, silent lows. That's a risk you'd run with a one-man comedy but Tillu takes too long to pick up the ball once he drops it, which means the audience must be kind. Luckily for the actor, Mumbai's audiences are still quite nice; they hang on patiently and do their bit to make the performance better.
When MADBETH plays on stage next, book your tickets, sure, but absolutely do not expect to see the MACBETH you may know. This is, literally, a mad version of the play "more or less the way Shakespeare wrote it". The great thing about the bard, however, is that his works continue to entertain, in ways he intended and not.
*Charulata enjoys watching theatre, and writing about it.
