‘Macbeth’ at Larking House & Curtis Theatre

OC Theatre Guild
6 days ago
4 min read

The Cold War collides with Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy.

From left, Lauren Velasco, William Thomas, Elisabeth Saenz Hunter and Sidney Aaron Aptaker. Photo courtesy Francis Gacad

by Anne Reid

The Larking House will present William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Curtis Theatre in Brea, running Oct. 3-12. The production reimagines the classic tragedy in Cold War-era Scotland, layering political tension, supernatural imagery and 1980s horror tropes into a darkly atmospheric staging.

“As you step into the theater, you’re not just watching a show,” said director Matthew Hayashi. “You’re entering a world where the supernatural is everywhere and nowhere at once. That’s the power of ‘Macbeth,’ where ambition, fate and the things we can’t control collide.”

Hayashi, a founder of The Larking House and its Managing Director, is making his second turn at the helm this year after staging “Julius Caesar” in the spring. He said this “Macbeth” explores how structures of power shape everyday lives.

“I see the play as a story about those in power and how their decisions ripple down,” he said. “The Cold War setting highlights that because at the time Scotland, physically between England and the Soviet Union, was in the position that made it a perfect eye of the storm. Civil unrest, factions, the pressure of being caught in between all resonates with the themes of ‘Macbeth.’”

The production transplants Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and betrayal to 1984, with Scotland recast as a geopolitical flashpoint. The Union Jack serves as a symbol of tension, representing both hope and domination. Red and blue dominate the visual palette, echoing the era’s East-West divide.

“The Soviets were labeled red as dictators and fascists, while the English flag became a symbol for hope in our story,” Hayashi said. “It’s a marrying of the imagery of Shakespeare’s world with the Cold War lens.”

Hayashi said he was drawn to the parallels between 16th-century fears of witchcraft and 20th-century paranoia about global conflict. “Shakespeare wrote a play steeped in superstition,” he said. “The witches were taboo in his day, and in the Cold War there were similar fears about unseen threats and forces shaping our lives.”

Pop culture of the 1980s also plays a central role in the staging. Hayashi cites “Stranger Things” as a major influence, particularly its vision of the Upside Down – a mirror of a real-world place but with everything shrouded in darkness, covered in a slimy web-like substance and filled with toxic air, home to demogorgons, Vecna and other creepy characters.

Adriana Rodriguez Burciaga as Lady Macbeth. Photo courtesy of Francis Gacad

“The supernatural takes place nowhere and everywhere at the same time,” he said. “We’re staging it as if the witches live in the Upside Down. Their presence represents an abstract sense of power. There are parallels between Vecna and Macbeth because both are antiheroes whose journeys force us to question what is real and what is imagined.”

Hayashi said his aim is not gore or shock value, but atmosphere. “The ‘80s horror tropes were about tension and the unknown,” he said. “The blurred line between fantasy and reality is what I’m going after.”

He pointed to Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene as one example. “I’m staging her nightmare almost as a fantasy sequence,” he said. “It’s about pulling out those supernatural threads that are already in the play and amplifying them.”

The design team is shaping a world that blends Shakespeare’s text with Cold War imagery through lighting designer Tony Sanchez’s use of silhouettes, shadows and high-contrast angles. “The text itself gives us the cue,” Hayashi said, quoting the line, “Husbandry in heaven, their candles are all out.” “We’re finding the sense of darkness that the play already holds.”

Sound design is split between composer Alex Aguilar and designer Jared McCarthy. Aguilar has written an original score influenced by horror and ‘80s synth soundscapes, while McCarthy provides atmospheric layering.

“The score drives the story and makes it feel both terrifying and fun,” Hayashi said. “Alex and Jared have worked together before, and their collaboration gives the production a sonic identity that’s really distinctive.”

Costumes, designed with a militaristic bent, reflect the Cold War setting. Macbeth and Banquo appear in uniforms modeled after Scotland’s Home Guard, a domestic paramilitary force. The witches are styled in gothic attire, reinforcing their otherworldly presence. Elements of the British royal family’s wardrobe also inform the designs, grounding the concept in recognizable period aesthetics.

“The soldiers look like a police force caught in civil unrest,” Hayashi said. “The witches, by contrast, belong to another dimension.”

From left, Coleman Blue Summers and Adriana Rodriguez Burciaga as Lady Macbeth. Photo courtesy of Francis Gacad

The Larking House held an open call about a month before rehearsals began, drawing from both its residency program and new faces.

“It’s about 50-50 right now,” Hayashi said. “Half of the cast are residents, and half are people new to us. I wasn’t casting based on concept. I was looking for actors who were excited about the language and who could really connect with it.”

Hayashi said the actors’ enthusiasm for Shakespeare’s text has energized rehearsals. “This play demands performers who can handle the poetry and the darkness,” he said. “We found people who really want to dive into that.”

The Larking House, while in pursuit of nonprofit status as a 501(c)(3), is still developing its identity. Without a permanent home, the company is slated to stage productions at the Curtis Theatre, Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, and with The Wayward Artist in Irvine

“Our goal is to build toward having our own space,” Hayashi said. “Right now we’re volunteer-led, and what we lack in funds we make up for in providing artists opportunities to grow. We’ve been operating freelance, but the goal is to expand the company in a sustainable way.”

Hayashi currently works full time as head carpenter at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. He studied acting and directing at Fullerton College before completing his degree at Cal State Fullerton. “South Coast Rep built its own identity and space, and that’s an inspiration,” he said. “We want to be part of the same kind of artistic ecosystem.”