By David Gordon

The fights are dazzling. Travis Youssef has choreographed shockingly realistic fights on a grand scale with only eight actors doing battle in the Drama Department’s production of “Something Wicked: a One Hour Macbeth” directed by Robert Westley (who also shares fight choreography credit) from an adaptation by Maureen Connolly McFeely.

The fact that the fights take precedence in this production of one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedies is of no surprise considering that Westley is, by trade, a fight choreographer. He also adds a distinctly wild concept, the use of actors in mask, to great effect. Those Weird Sisters live up to their name while grotesquely disguised in masks that look like they’re right out of that episode of “The Twilight Zone.” Macduff’s family also wears masks, expressionless ones, which makes their murder that much more frightening. And the murderers? They’re horrifying. They are exactly what horror freaks would love in a production of “Macbeth.”

To the cast’s credit, the dialogue sounds completely natural and this is, for all intents and purposes, one of the more accessible productions of Shakespeare I’ve seen. The only problem is that it needs to be slowed down. They deliver lines so quickly that the audience has trouble keeping up them.

Louis Aquiler’s take on Macbeth is fascinating in its nonchalance. “I have done the deed,” he says of murdering King Duncan with barely a shoulder shrug. Audience members can see the cracks starting to appear in his porcelain veneer; by the end, he’s broken. He has great chemistry with Alexis Rhiannon, a Lady Macbeth who one can never tell if she’s genuine or just putting on a show.

The polar opposite of Aquiler is Lamar K. Cheston as Macduff. His nonchalance, especially his reaction to his family’s murder, is jarring. William Wu’s stillness is very unsettling in his scenes when he, as Banquo, appears as a ghost. Rich Traub doesn’t have enough of an opportunity to show off what could be a scene-stealing Porter.

There’s a bit of trouble hearing Lauren Cook’s Witch/Malcolm every now and then, but the battle scenes in which she, Kelly Wadler’s Witch/Ross and Jackie Nese’s Witch/Lennox take part, are interesting to watch.

Because this production will tour local high schools, the designs (set by Jenna Lyons; costumes by Alexandra Rubin) are spare, but they work. The moody lighting, designed by Jim Hart, punctuates the intentions of violence effectively.

“Something Wicked” will be performed on March 12 at 8 p.m. and March 14 at 2 p.m. in the John Cranford Adams Playhouse. Tickets are free with a University ID.