Black lipstick, grommet belts and thrash metal music are an integral part of Rising Sun Theatre's debut production, William Shakespeare's "Macbeth." So are noh masks, hakama (trousers) and a huge Shinto torii.
This cultural mix is part of what the Nagoya-based company's founder, Dwayne Lawler, calls his "chameleon approach," which is aimed at adapting the production to the Japanese environment. Lawler has also pared down the play -- already Shakespeare's shortest -- stripping "Macbeth" to a two-act series of powerful, fast-paced scenes.
The action is punctuated by death-metal music from American band Shakespeare in Hell. "Our signature method of presenting Shakespeare with music aims to mainstream the Bard's work," says Lawler.