Off With Your Heads!

"Como sabes que ellas son mujeres?
-Porque tienen faldas!"

-McBeth, Performance at Museo Bellas Artes

If anyone had told me yesterday night that I would be bent over laughing while watching Macbeth, I would not have believed them. I mean, men in skirts get me every time, but Macbeth as a tragedy is so deeply ingrained in my head that it was difficult to even imagine how it could be turned into a comedy. The acting troupe outside Museo Bellas Artes, however, had no problem at all doing just that - and all it took was a few skirty kilts, some crossdressing men, a one-eyed Lady Macbeth, and a marijuana leaf.

In 2008, Chile celebrated the election of Sebastian Pinera, Chile's first right-wing president in 30 years, with a staunch sobriety. But seriousness and laughter even mixed at the inaugeration ceremony this past Februrary when, amidst three strong aftershocks, the Peruvian president explained in nervous laughter, "[The aftershocks] gave us the chance to dance for a few minutes."

Not everyone was laughing. Pinera's election was garnered by a thin margin, sparked mass controversy among political leftists, and provoked fear for more than a few Chileans for whom painful memories of Pinochet's dictatorship lingered. News articles in the United States and Chile alike spoke about the earthquake as almost good fortune for the new President, who would most likely have faced vicious criticism and protest on his inaugeration day had it not been for the changed mood of the country.

One month later, as the King of Scotland lie murdered in his bedchamber beneath a chilly autumn sky in Santiago, a Chilean MacDuff joked, "The stars exploded - WHOOM WHOOM! - A black cat howled, running past - MEOW! - Pinera was elected President - ACK! - and the moon dripped rain, but not any rain - IT WAS BLOOD!"

Pinera was ragged on throughout the performance, as the political backdrop of the play added more than enough fodder for witty one-liners and toeing-the-line digs. But the play also took the opportunity to have a hearty chuckle at the Chilean tendency to run out of minutes on their cell phones, to smoke a little too much pot, and to like some really gnarly 80's rock bands.

My eye mostly focused on the cross-gender performance aspects of the production. Lady Macbeth was played by the tallest man in the ensemble, and assumed a grizzly, deep voice, while her husband was portrayed as a small boy. Thinking about Chilean society - whose blood runs thick with machismo and patriarchy - the demasculinization of the men in the performance seems pretty clearly a sign of a failing, flailing, and wailing (literally, in the play) patriarchy. But it also calls attention to the masculinized woman as a kind of perverted symbol and a participating factor in Chile's social downfall, specifically pointed at the crippling effect that the earthquake had on the already fragile Chilean economy (and perhaps references former president Michelle Balechet's "slow" response to the quake damage). I do not know if this is what the scriptwriters intended, but the implications have me worried as to what extent Chile accepts the "modern woman," and overall how Chile views women as participants in building and running Chile's political and economic future.

The Bellas Artes performance of Macbeth had me in stitches, but most poignant is that the banter is set with the original play in mind. This makes the viewing a sobering experience, and calls attention to some very, very black humor. After the performance, Karla, Felipe and I took shelter from the cold in a cozy corner bar, and I asked them what the attitude currently was toward Pinera. The muscles in Felipe's face tightened, and he restrainedly said, "We will just have to see what happens." That's a pretty just answer - Chile has made its bed, and is now holding its breath, waiting to see how the next four years will play out.