Two years ago Fredrik ”Benke” Rydman’s contemporary dance adaptation of Swan Lake, complete with pimps and hookers, became a such a success that the show is still touring around the world. When we caught up him he was just about to board a plane to Moscow, where he’s off to play another two weeks of Swan Lake performances. But we are more interested in his new show Macbeth, which will premiere at Stockholm Stadsteater at December 22. Rydman’s take on Macbeth is a 70s Blaxploitation version, set in a street environment and played out to a funky a soulful soundtrack. The difference this time is that the cast is not entirely made up out of dancers – it’s his first time working with real actors. “Yeah, it’s quite different. I’d call it a dance theatre show. It’s a combination between the two art forms, so it’s an unusual concept. We work with 11 actors from Stadsteatern and four dancers.

It seems like you are making this your niche, to rework old classics into modern adaptations.

Haha, yeah I need to quit doing that after this show though. I don’t want to get stuck.

How did you get the idea?

I don’t know, it was just something in the Macbeth story. The murder of the king sparking a wave of killings to conceal the crime, it sounds like something from a gangster organisation. I just came to think of a way to approach the theme. I went back to the 70s and this whole Blaxploitation genre. I translated the story into that environment, with street corners instead of Scottish moors.

Both the clothing and the music is really cool. People have always tried to assert themselves on the streets through their clothes. You know, it’s all about the appearance – ’the walk and the talk’. It’s pretty cool and out there. And it’s a parallel to Shakespeare so it works well as a translation.

Is there something you cannot do with classics like Swan Lake and Macbeth? And do you ever encounter any opposition to these ideas?

No I don’t, but there are always the puritans who always want things to be the way they always have been. It’s fun to do things in a complete opposite way. But I want those who know their Shakespeare to appreciate the little hints that I have ’translated’. Hints the audience who don’t know Shakespeare enough won’t get.

It’s several layers, doing it really smart is a challenge.