Robert Wilson's Oedipus and Alessandro Serra's Macbettu in Naples and Lecce

Two theatrical productions, Robert Wilson's Oedipus and Alessandro Serra's Macbettu, recently staged in close succession in Naples and Lecce, Italy. Wilson's Oedipus, produced by Teatro Stabile di Napoli, showcases his signature slow motion, linguistic melting pot, and masterful light and sound design. The director's note asks, 'Are we able to look at the truth?', but the production prioritizes aesthetic enchantment over dramatic urgency, losing the human torment of Sophocles' original. In contrast, Serra's Macbettu, produced by Sardegna Teatro and winner of the 2017 Premio Ubu for show of the year, blends Shakespeare's drama with Sardinian language and archaic, Dionysian elements. The all-male cast, led by Leonardo Capuano, uses the Sardinian language for its pure sonority, moving away from meaning to amplify the drama's deep sense. The set features primordial elements like stones and iron, with ferine movements. The witches, a scenic and dramaturgical metronome, are mysterious and comical, recalling village mourners with grotesque traits. Each murder is an act of violence, with pig squeals, cowbells, brawls, and rivers of wine. Lady Macbeth's death evokes Caravaggesque figures, and Birnam Wood's advance features actors with cork masks like silent elves or Barbaricini mamuthones.