I’ve been writing for RenegadePNW for almost six months now with hopes of getting free show tickets, and it’s finally happening! Someone over at The Salt and Sage Theater Company (not to be confused with The Salt and Straw Ice Cream Company) read my review of American Girl from back in April and sent me a couple of free tickets to their production of Macbeth and Titus, currently running at Shaking the Tree Theater on SE Grant St. Unfortunately, actor Alexander Buckner, playing the role of Aaron, passed away, so their production of Titus was postponed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Alexander’s close ones, friends, and relatives. At the pre-show announcement of Macbeth, they had such wonderful things to say about him. He seems like the kind of person who made a mark on those around him and will be deeply missed.
Unfortunately, my girlfriend and I were 8 minutes late to the August 11th performance of Macbeth. By the time we arrived, they had already locked the gate to the courtyard/waiting area. We tried looking for an alternative entrance, but it wouldn’t be fair to disrupt the show, so we went to see Butter at The FunHouse Lounge, which is another story. I ended up paying out of pocket for tickets to the August 18th show and made sure to be there extra early, assuming this is Portland and there would be a theater bar I could chill at. There was not, nor was there any place to sit in the hip courtyard area. There were these weird outdoor seats that looked more decorative than practical and very tiny, like some kind of Danish-designed child’s chair.
They let us in at 7:30 on the dot, very punctual, and I was impressed by the space with high ceilings and professional lighting. The set was a two-level stage made out of scaffolding with what looked like painter’s tarps and no real set dressing: very minimalistic. Some steps led up to the second level, and the actors made good use of this space. The stage, however, was in a corner of this room and the audience was at the other corner; It was a theater in the square! I probably just had a bad seat, but I did find myself having to crane my neck a lot to follow the action. I love it when warehouses transform into performance spaces; it can be an added challenge due to the layout, but the director Asae Dean did a fantastic job with it. The production value is better than you might expect from a local theater, with professional lighting and scoring.
Now for the performances! I recognized one of the actors from “American Girl,” a play I reviewed back in April, based on the true story of Nikki Kuhnhausen, a trans woman who was murdered in Vancouver, WA, in 2019. Peter Schuyler played Nikki’s enabling drug-addicted father, prone to yelling and coughing fits. In this production, he plays the much softer-spoken and honorable characters of Duncan and Siward. Bobby Bermea plays Macbeth and has the intense gaze and warmth to pull it off. The eyeliner also helped. Who steals the show, however, is Leiana Rousseau Petlewski, but not for her performance as The Servant but as the cellist. Her playing added so much to this show’s energy; it was a character all its own. The way she loomed in the background menacingly, playing her cello, gave the show the slow-burning intensity of an A24 film. In many instances, that cello playing carried the scene.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not really a Shakespeare guy. The old English and heavy use of symbolism in everything they say make it feel like they’re speaking in some exhausting code. If Shakespeare isn’t your thing, you might want to skip it, but if you’re trying to expose yourself to more culture and support local theater, definitely check this one out.
