Fog x Macbeth mingles with Fujiko Nakaya’s fog installation at the Arboretum on Sunday, October 21.
The live, site-specific adaptation of Macbeth is designed to resonate both with Frederick Law Olmsted’s landscape design and Nakaya’s climate-responsive fog installation at the Arboretum, Fog × Hill. The action will unfold at the base of the hill next to the Hunnewell Building Visitor Center near the Arborway Gate, where Nakaya’s installation has generated intermittent clouds of pure-water since the Fog × FLO exhibition opening on August 11. Fog × Macbeth is one of several free performances and family events scheduled at the Arboretum during the run of Fog × FLO, which remains on view at the Arboretum and four other parks along Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace through October 31.
Calling fog “the most generous medium” for creating art, Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya has collaborated for decades with artists, musicians, designers, and more to transform her fog sculptures into “fog performances.” For Fog × Macbeth, ASP offers scenes from the world premiere of a new verse translation by playwright Migdalia Cruz. This translation is part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Play on! Project, a national initiative engaging diverse playwright and dramaturg teams with the goal of broadening access and understanding for contemporary audiences. The play is currently in rotating repertory production by ASP at the United Parish in Brookline through November 11.
For the Arboretum performance, visitors are encouraged to arrive early to find available seating on the Hunnewell Building lawn, as the performance will begin promptly at 5:00pm. Attendees should dress for the weather, and low lawn chairs or blankets for sitting on the grass will be permitted. A raindate is scheduled for Monday, October 22 at 5:00pm. Fog × Macbeth is cosponsored by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA). See the Arnold Arboretum website for complete listings and details.
