‘Macbeth’
Presenter: Great Lakes Theater.”
When: March 29 through April 15 (times vary).
Where: Hanna Theatre, 2067 E. 14th St., Cleveland.
Tickets: $15 to $80 (student tickets are $13).
Info: 216-241-6000 or greatlakestheater.org.
You’d better not bring a knife to an axe fight.
That’s one thing fight choreographer Ken Merckx has learned over roughly a dozen years of staging Great Lakes Theater battles scenes.
“It’s a discerning audience in Cleveland,” said Merckx, calling from Los Angeles. “They’ve proven to be very demanding, so we try to do our best.”
Merckx latest work can be seen in the Great Lakes Theater’s production of “Macbeth,” running March 29 through April 15 in the Hanna Theatre at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. William Shakespeare’s notorious tragedy, which conjures up magic, politics, corruption and heroism, includes battles with actors using broadswords, shields and axes.
“With Cleveland being rough-and-tumble, this production is grittier and cruder,” Merckx said. “(Great Lakes Theater Producing Artistic Director) Charles Fee and I have worked together on three or four other productions of ‘Macbeth,’ but this would be — I wouldn’t say historically accurate — more of a feeling of warfare in Scotland during that time.”
Regarding a rough-and-tumble existence, Merckx speaks from experience. After all, he’s spent decades as a working actor in Hollywood. While his IMDB page is littered with television shows and films, he truly found his calling as a fight choreographer and stunt coordinator.
Early on, Merckx realized his love of acting was based around fight choreography. The naturally athletic performer said it wasn’t an intentional career path, but when opportunities were presented, he didn’t turn down the gigs.
These days he’s an expert, which means he can provide a veteran’s perspective regarding the massive battle scenes from HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
“Don’t get me wrong, ‘Game of Thrones’ kind of brought the general public back to that genre, but some of the fights, in in my opinion, are wanting,” Merckx said. “They’re not as dynamic as we would like to see in our profession, but as it grows in popularity, they’ve hired more professionals and the quality of the fights (has) increased.”
While Merckx has choreographed plenty of fight scenes before, he’s confident this production of “Macbeth” is different. He described the battle scenes as very masculine and virile, with lots of passion and energy. There’s something also present for the “Game of Thrones” fans that speaks to the darker side of humanity.
“It’s bloody,” Merckx said. “There are so many references in the script to blood and the gore and the nastiness of humanity and war and the corruption that Macbeth experiences, and how it causes him to do very awful deeds that we would all consider pretty extreme and pretty unacceptable in society.
“There’s an ugliness. These are some of the most knock-down, brutal fights that I’ve been a part of there. So that’s exciting for me to present to audiences just maybe a little more of a grittier take of stage combat.”
Merckx is confident that the on-stage fighting will add a sense of authenticity to Shakespeare’s tragedy that will affect members long after they leave the theater.
“My hope is these fights come off giving you the sense and feeling of danger and this situation the characters are in,” Merckx said. “You know, the circumstances are very high for all of the characters. Hopefully, these fights help tell that story of desperation, commitment and high stakes.”
‘Macbeth’
Presenter: Great Lakes Theater.”
When: March 29 through April 15 (times vary).
Where: Hanna Theatre, 2067 E. 14th St., Cleveland.
Tickets: $15 to $80 (student tickets are $13).
Info: 216-241-6000 or greatlakestheater.org.
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