num_pages: 105
description: Macbett had its first American production at the acclaimed School of Drama of Yale University. Mel Gussow, drama critic for The New York Times, wrote: "... Ionesco has written a comedy of monarchy. Viewed from the perspective of today, he sees Macbeth  as a grotesque joke. How else can you explain mass murder? The message is deadly serious and even moralistic - Shakespeare and Ionesco are each studying the corruptive effect of ambition - but this is, first of all, a very funny play. "'History is full of tricks,' says Macbett - and so is Ionesco. He maliciously undermines his source and its traditions, spoofing Shakespeare along with tragedy. There is always an extra ghost up Ionesco's sleeve. He is a grave robber, subverting solemnity and substituting antic wit and dry acerbity..."For all his playfulness, Ionesco is very much concerned with the nature of revolution. As Macbett says, regretting his life: ' man doesn't rule events. Events rule him.' Kings rise and are toppled, and what do intentions matter? As Ionesco sees it, all rule is misrule, and, as for the rabble, they are scheming and hypocritical. The play levitates with humor, but it's heart is pessimistic... The dialogue, far removed from Shakespeare, is colloquial and deceptively casual, understanding the enormity of the events..."As for the collaboration between Shakespeare and Ionesco, just as Shakespeare had his Holinshed's Chronicles, so Ionesco has his Shakespeare. Inspired by the myth of Macbeth, he has written a comedy with special meaning for today."
language: English
title: Macbett: A play
titlecomplete: Macbett: A play
genres: Theatre, Drama, Classics, France, Retellings, Plays, Humor, 20th Century, French Literature, Romania
ratings_count: 420
publisher: Grove Press