Macbeth Mutfakta (Macbeth in the Kitchen) (Tamdoğan, 2013)

Macbeth Mutfakta (Macbeth in the Kitchen)

Macbeth-Style Bloody Menemen: Kadro Pa’s Macbeth Mutfakta

Kadro Pa’s Macbeth Mutfakta is a postdramatic experiment with Shakespeare’s Macbeth and represents an example of object theatre as the actor Simge Günsan tells the story of Shakespeare’s play by a table using various kitchen utensils and vegetables to suggest the characters of Shakespeare’s play. The play is interactive as Günsan tells the audience that she will be cooking menemen by using chopped vegetables which represent dead characters. The mention of menemen can be taken as a culture-specific item introducing a famous dish of Turkish cuisine. All characters are represented with a specific utensil in the production quite creatively. Günsan uses a chef’s knife for the character Macbeth, a large fork to represent Banquo, and a smaller one to represent his son in a later scene. With the help of the fork, the knife chops the onions to suggest the image of a fighting soldier. Lady Macbeth is represented as a knife sharpener. Considering that Macbeth is a knife, the representation of Lady Macbeth as a sharpener suggests her manipulative and provocative manners. King Duncan and his sons are represented by varying sizes of tomatoes. A moment with remarkable creativity in the play is when the actor uses a plastic fork to suggest Banquo’s ghost, which completely subverts the tragic aspect of Shakespeare’s play. Other important characters of the play, the witches, are represented with the use of three peppermills while Hecate, the master of the three witches, is represented by the actor putting a scallion on her head. Macduff is represented as a pair of tongs. Humorously, Birnam Wood is even represented in the play with parsley. As the actor grabs a piece of parsley with the tongs, the moment wittily suggests Macduff camouflaging himself in the woods. With an innovative style, Günsan illustrates an example of one of the many alternative ways in which Shakespeare is used in our day.

Note about the Full Video: The whole performance of the play live streamed during the Covid19 pandemic.

Image from https://tiyatrolar.com.tr/tiyatro/macbeth-mutfakta

Image from https://www.birgun.net/haber/sanat-soganla-bile-zor-su-an-385203

Image from https://www.birgun.net/haber/sanat-soganla-bile-zor-su-an-385203

Cast
Simge Günsan

Production Team

Director
Burak Tamdoğan

Adaptation
Simge Günsan

Technical Team
Uğur Cem Biricik

Lighting
Melda Tuzluca

Music
Evren Gülseven
Argın Aytaç

Further Reading

Interview with Simge Günsan, actor and adapter of the play

Production notes provided by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem Özmen Akdoğan, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Türkiye.