The story of the obsession Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have with maintaining power is, in ØBS, tinges with a multitude of references to our contemporary everyday lives. It seems as if the disappearance of Shakespeare’s text produces a total loss of the poetic register, at least in the textual sense, and the characters are no longer moved by the force of words, but rather by the force of images. La Fura dels Baus looks for modern equivalents to the Shakespearian archetypes: Macbeth becomes a husband without much personality and Lady Macbeth a stripper who doesn’t hesitate to use her body to manipulate at whim all those that could stand in the way of her plans.

In ØBS we find the essence of La Fura dels Baus’language, which goes from maintaining the friction with the audience, to ritualizing the scene, to elaborating a scenic design that shares space with the spectator. Based on the company’s original formula it can be deduced that in our times the power of text is not enough, now images and gesture are imposed as the solid base on which to build a play.

Direction and creation

Pep Gatell (La Fura dels Baus).

Actors Direction

Jürgen Müller (La Fura dels Baus).

Script and playwriting

Pep Gatell, Jürgen Müller, Carlos Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus).

Music

Miki Espuma (La Fura dels Baus), Robert Merdzo.

Texts

Daniel Fernández

3D video production

Quique García

Direction assistant

Kike Blanco

Set design

Luis Monteagudo

Sound design

Marc Sardà

Lighting design

Jaime Llerins

Video design

Jordi Casinos

Costumes

Ficticios, Monika Harbort.

Cast

Iván Altamira, Svenja Beneke, Eloi Benet, David N. Climent, Pedro Escrich, Pep Farrés, Sergi Faustino, Emili Giner, Fulgenci Mestres, Gudula Mueller-Töwe, David Nieto, Glòria Ràmia, Alexandra Rei, Ramón Tarés, «Tatín», «Turbito».

Musicians

Raúl de Alba, Quimantu, Vidi Vidal.

Technical production

Alberto Pastor

Self-illumination

Ziggy Durand

Production

Nadala Fernández

Production assistant

Eduard García

Technical Director

Luis Monteagudo

Live Camera

Kike Blanco

Lighting

Ziggy Durand, David Hoyos.

Sound

Marc Romagosa, Jordi Orriols.

Video

Xavi Correa, Fernando Esparza.

Machinists

Raúl de Alba, Rafael Ceballos, David Lara, Félix Mendoza.

Road manager

Roberto Villalón

Premiere

1/5/2000, De Bottelarij, Bruselas.

Performances

199

Produced by La Fura dels Baus, España Nuevo Milenio, Ajuntament de Barcelona-Mercat de les Flors, Sterisc[:her:]bst, De Bottelarij, Teatro Lírico de Cagliari.

ØBS is a rereading of the William Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth. This version by La Fura dels Baus uses a small part of the original text and incorporates a series of other texts. Nevertheless, Macbeth’s plot structure is completely maintained, as well as the characters and their vicissitudes.