Make Thick My Blood

Directed by Alexandra Beller

Reviews:

Directed and choreographed by Alexandra Beller, the production starts with an extended, non-verbal, movement piece that explores the trauma suffered by this couple – the initial experience of it, the holding of it and the resonance of it. Calling this work, which is re-visited throughout the performance, “movement” is a bit of an understatement. In the hands of Ms. Beller, physicality becomes physicalized text that tells a specific story of it’s own, sometimes in tandem with – sometimes in opposition to, the spoken word. While this opening can feel a bit intellectual at times, Ms. Beller is cleverly laying a foundation for her vision that delivers plenty of emotional punch as the show progresses.

stageandcinema.com, KEVIN VAVASSEUR

What is refreshing is that this production could have focused only on the nightmare. But it focuses on the effort to wake up; the effort to move on from what no human can fully move on from: the loss of a loved one. The movement in this production, under the helm of Alexandra Beller, an award-winning choreographer in her directorial debut, successfully brings the full range of emotion felt by the couple to the surface. The adaptation and direction carved out space for empathy and relatability in a story that other productions typically leave out. The story of one couple's trauma reminds us that, in our bodies, we all carry the presence of past trauma and that it can manifest itself in unpredictable ways.

InfiniteBody, Kate Foster Vishniakova

Make Thick My Blood
Presented by DeCruit at Theatre Row
Directed by Alexandra Beller
July 30-August 7, 2022

Make Thick My Blood extracts the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to retell the story from the perspective of trauma-survivors. A two-person, radically physical show, Make Thick My Blood confronts the interplay between gender, power, trauma, and magic as experienced equally through the language of Shakespeare and visceral embodiment. The rich movement world invites the actors to their own danger, pain, and desperation, allowing the audience to actively witness what happens when we disconnect from our own humanity. The adaptation of Shakespeare’s well-loved classic brings Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, and their inner witches, into intimate communion and conflict with one another. More than a show, Macb2th is an event. It rides a line between art, healing, and community engagement. Rehearsed with our ‘trauma-informed rehearsal curriculum’, Make Thick My Blood is a way forward, for communities who want to use the performing arts to heal their community