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31 March 2017: Shakespeare Must Die

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Shakespeare Must Die
Ing K
2011 | 172 min | Colour | DCP

"Shakespeare Must Die is a faithful, word-for-word transposition of Macbeth to contemporary Thailand, meticulously translated by Ing K herself and admixed with local references both mythical and historical. Fusing Shakespearean royal drama with TV soap and Thai folk opera elements – the colourful sets and costumes were handcrafted by artist friends – this fever-dream rendition of ‘the world’s best-known study of tyranny’ doesn’t pull any punches." – Nikolaus Perneczky

"This 'Shakespearean horror movie', a tale of politics and black magic, translated into Thai directly and exactly from The Tragedy of Macbeth, with some cinematic and Thai cultural adaptations, takes place in two parallel worlds: inside the theatre, the world of the play about the ambitious and bloody general who becomes king through murder, and the 'outside world' in the contemporary lives of a non-specific country’s superstitious, megalomaniac and murderous dictator, known only as 'Dear Leader', and his scary high society wife. Banned by the Thai government censors as a threat to national security." – Ing K


Part of our season on Ing K