Voodoo Macbeth

E24302

Voodoo Macbeth is a groundbreaking 1936 all-Black adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Macbeth," directed by Orson Welles and set in a Caribbean voodoo context, produced under the U.S. Federal Theatre Project.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf stage adaptation
theatrical production
adaptationApproach relocates Scottish setting to a mythical Caribbean island
administeredBy Works Progress Administration
artForm drama
associatedWith Federal Theatre Project Negro Theatre Unit
Orson Welles
basedOn Macbeth
basedOnWorkBy William Shakespeare
castComposition all-Black cast
countryOfOrigin United States
criticalReputation groundbreaking reinterpretation of Macbeth
culturalContext Harlem Renaissance era African American performance
director Orson Welles
era 1930s American theatre
fundedBy U.S. Federal Theatre Project
genre Shakespearean adaptation
theatre
tragedy
hasDirector Orson Welles
hasEthnicFocus African American theatre
hasInfluenceOn color-conscious casting in classical theatre
later Black Shakespearean productions
hasSubject witchcraft and supernatural elements
hasTitleLanguage English
historicalPeriod Great Depression
inception 1936
language English
medium live theatre
movement experimental theatre
notableCastFeature predominantly African American actors
notableFor all-Black adaptation of a Shakespeare play
early major directing work of Orson Welles
innovative transposition of Macbeth to a Caribbean voodoo setting
originalAuthor William Shakespeare
originalWorkTitle Macbeth
partOf Federal Theatre Project
productionCompany Federal Theatre Project
productionType all-Black theatre production
setting Caribbean
voodoo context
sponsor U.S. government
theme colonial and racial dynamics
power and ambition
usesElement drumming and dance
voodoo rituals
workType publicly funded theatre production

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Federal Theatre Project
notableWork

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