The Living Room Stage

Cahoot's Macbeth unfolds within the cozy confines of a living room, shrouded in such obscurity at the play's onset that the audience remains blissfully unaware of its setting. The curtain rises on a performance in English, a stark contrast to previous renditions, with a troupe of actors delivering a succinct yet spirited adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The dialogue echoes directly from the Bard's original text. Suddenly, the wail of a police siren slices through the atmosphere, accompanied by a resonant knocking at the door. These disruptions weave seamlessly into the play’s fabric. As the hostess exits to admit a police inspector, the stage reveals an empty living room. He expresses his astonishment at discovering a theatrical performance hosted in a private home and acknowledges the audience, who witness Stoppard's creation. Landovsky, the thespian embodying Macbeth, reenters, sparking a discussion about the suppression of public performances. The inspector, intrigued, takes a seat among the spectators to observe the continuation of the Macbeth scene, while the actors, wary of the looming threat of arrest for violating censorship laws, proceed with trepidation.

The Inspector's Challenge

The inspector demands they persist for his entertainment, warning that displeasure will lead to their arrest. The actors, under duress, reluctantly pick up their performance, only for the inspector to deride their efforts, claiming the police disdain Shakespeare. He argues that explicit declarations of oppression are preferable to veiled expressions in clandestine plays. In a moment of desperation, Cahoot, a forbidden writer among them, collapses, mimicking a dog. When pressed by the inspector for an explanation, Cahoot responds with Shakespearean eloquence. The inspector dismisses this as a futile attempt to evade the law with prose, listing the numerous resistance groups he has pursued. Cahoot's growl underscores his dehumanized status, stripped to a 'nonperson' by the regime.

Resumption of the Play

With the inspector’s departure, the actors swiftly resume their performance. As their drama unfolds, Easy, a lorry-driver from an earlier saga, steps onto the stage, speaking in the mysterious Dogg language. Unperturbed, the actors continue their lines from Macbeth, while Easy moves like a specter, attempting to capture their attention. Macbeth, ever the improviser, folds these interruptions into the narrative, treating Easy as a phantom visitor from another realm. Eventually, the hostess pauses the play to engage Easy in conversation. In Dogg, he endeavors to convey that he bears a delivery. Upon revealing his truck and its contents, comprehension dawns, and the actors resume their thespian duties.

The Final Act

The inspector reappears, as Easy attempts to communicate in Dogg. The hostess clarifies Easy’s lack of English fluency. Cahoot enters the scene, conversing with Easy in Dogg, revealing that this language is absorbed, not taught. As Easy converses, the actors begin to grasp the enigmatic tongue. The hostess instructs the inspector to vacate the stage, allowing them to perform Macbeth's climactic scenes. The inspector issues a foreboding warning—the venue is wiretapped, and the recordings will serve as evidence in a trial against them. Undeterred, the actors proceed, now delivering their lines entirely in Dogg. When the telephone rings, the inspector answers, only to be told that the recordings are unintelligible. Frazzled, his frustration mounts as the actors persist. Meanwhile, Easy and some actors construct steps onstage, exchanging words in Dogg. In a final outburst, the inspector summons additional police, who begin enclosing the stage with the building materials, effectively obscuring the actors from view. As the tension crescendos, the phone rings once more. Easy answers, and as he converses, his speech gradually reverts to English. His concluding line, in full English, reflects on the week’s peculiar events, with a promise of return by Tuesday.