The new work being prepared for 2007, Voodoo Macbeth will use the rituals surrounding death in the cult of Voodoo to explore the underlying psychosis and inner world of the Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this expressionist retelling, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are summoned by the witches to return from the dead. Linked by black magic and fuelled by the fire of ambition and greed they are forced to relive their nightmarish fate within an arcane ritual directed by the witches. Dramaturgical Preview - April 2007 "Jacqui Carroll's Voodoo Macbeth stirs the steamy heart of the French colonial slave trade: by day the Princes parade, by night the drums of the Haitian jungle raise the hair of the neck. Macbeth, in secret, trades with the left hand path of sorcery. His luck too great he falls victim to the powers he invokes. The Black Dog Baka* has possession of his brain, and as his zombie, Macbeth rides his fate in a miasma of treachery and blood. Jacqui Carroll shatters the traditional tale and like Picasso, revels in nightmarish struggles and acrid beauty." Florence Forrest Voodoo Macbeth - Damaturgical Preview 1 *Baka: “The protective spirit known as a Baka or Gad (guard) can be delivered by a Voodoo priest in the form of a dwarf, small monster or animal. It protects a house or property. Believed to be evil, the Baka can turn on its owner to inflict various misfortunes, including his or her death or the death of their loved ones.” Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy, Laennec Hurbon, Thames and Hudson, London, 1995. Voodoo Macbeth will engage the artistic talents of doppelganger/’selfers’ maker Florence Forrest*(design dramaturge). The ghostly doubles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will be created using a process of latex moulding and casting. These life-like sculptural props will introduce a heightened sense of the surreal, evoking the resurrection of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Powerful choreography and hard-edged music will be integrated to create the visual impact and episodic feel of a music video clip. *Read more on Florence's work with Frank Theatre on her Design Dramaturge blog. Voodoo Macbeth images in the sidebar courtesy of Michael Andrew Dare.