Apex Theatre Studio presents Erica Schmidt’s "Mac Beth," a retelling of Shakespeare’s classic set amongst a group of schoolgirls performing the play as an after-school ritual that turns dark and bloody at the black box theater at Apex Theatre Studio, located in World Golf Village. Thursday, Oct. 24, is student night. Other shows are: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
Originally produced by off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theatre company in 2019, Schmidt’s interpretation provides a fresh take on this tale of evil while keeping the original in text largely intact. The New York Times declared it “exuberant … an adaptation of the Shakespeare play that with its all-female cast becomes a raucous, sometimes impish, very dark-edged revel.”
“We have an October tradition of producing something to give folks a good scare,” said Ian Mairs, managing director of Apex Theatre Studio. “This show makes Shakespeare accessible to anyone.”
Teaching artist Laura Frye, who has worked professionally across the country doing Shakespeare, concurs that “handing all the roles in the play to young women provides an interesting lens on the play. This group is more than up to the challenge.”
The production features young artists in the advanced acting workshop at the studio, who are currently attending Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Ponte Vedra High School and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Running time is 80 minutes. The production is not recommended for children younger than 12.
There will be a special outdoor performance on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Hope Pavilion at St. Francis-in-the-Field in Ponte Vedra.
Tickets are $15. For tickets and reservations, go to apextheatrejax.com/events.