Macbeth

This Excellent interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tragic play “Macbeth” was the first production performed by CADOS in their new Studio Theatre. Macbeth, or to give it its full  title of “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, is the shortest of Shakespeare’s tragedies thought to have been first performed in 1606 during the reign of James I and published in the Folio of 1623. It is said that Shakespeare's source for the story was the Holinshed's Chronicles written in 1587 - a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland which includes an account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan, although the plot of the play is somewhat different from the life of the real Macbeth.

The play, which was set in contemporary times, is about political ambition and murder - it looks at the damaging physical and psychological effects on those who seek power and how others can influence the decisions we make and how these decisions impact the course of our lives 

At the beginning of the play we find three Witches (Ellie Lewis, Rebecca Moran and Bev Priestner) plotting and scheming on a bleak misty Scottish moor. Soldiers Macbeth (Martin Clarke) and Banquo (Joshua Chadwick) are traveling home from battle when they come across the witches who foretell that Macbeth will become “Thane of Cawdor” and then King of Scotland and Banquo will sire future kings, but he will never be king himself. Soon after this meeting King Duncan (Nathan Benson) names Macbeth “Thane of Cawdor”. Macbeth plans to kill Duncan and replace him as King with the help of his wife Lady Macbeth (Emma Hardacre) who is ambitious for her husband. Suddenly King Duncan decides to visit Macbeth’s castle, so Macbeth takes the opportunity to carry out his plan and murders Duncan, but he soon regrets his actions, Lady Macbeth calms him and Macbeth is elected King but is plagued by suspicion of other people’s ambition. After having his friend Banquo murdered Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost during a banquet and becomes out of control. He visits the witches again, they tell him he will be safe until Birnam Wood, marches into battle against him and he won’t be killed by anyone born of woman.Meanwhile Macduff(Jack Vardy) is grieving for his wife and children who were murdered on Macbeth’s orders. Macduff goes to King Duncan’s son Malcom (Stephen Catterall) and persuades him to lead an army against Macbeth. During the battle Malcolm’s soldiers carry branches from the forest as camouflage, so Birnam Wood is moving towards Macbeth as prophesied. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth has been having nightmares and sleepwalks, she is distraught and commits suicide. Macbeth looses the battle and is challenged by Macduff, Macbeth learns Macduff was a caesarean birth which means there is a flaw in the prophecy. Macduff is victorious and  brings Macbeth’s head to Malcolm who is crowned king.

Director Libby Burke with the help of Producer Mark Jones, gathered together a very talented group of actors who produced a number of different characters while at the same time working well together and complimenting each other excellently. All gave high quality performances with excellent clear diction and good phrasing which is very important when performing Shakespeare meaning the dialogue and the story could be followed. This was a large cast of fourteen and a number of the cast played multiple roles. However Martin Clarke as Macbeth was outstanding, producing a performance which highlighted his characters fall from Hero to murderer and Emma Hardacre made an excellent, manipulative Lady Macbeth. These two actors complimented each other nicely, their characters had a number of transitions throughout the play which they were able pull off expertly, they also appeared to understand the psychology of their relationship and were able to highlight the manipulation of Macbeth by Lady Macbeth and the terrible psychological haunting guilt they both suffered. I would like to mention the three witches Ellie Lewis, Rebecca Moran and Bev Priestner who were suitably sinister and eerie and worked well in concert, their costumes were well thought out and very Gothic adding to their characterisations. Other cast members.who did an excellent job with their characters were,Jack Vardy as Macduff and Joshua Chadwick as Banquo. Actors who played more than one role and were able to transition very well from their main character were Nathan Benson as Duncan, Stephen Catterall as Malcolm, Alan Levesley as Ross, Ciaran Mcghee as Fleance, Joanna Robinson as Lady Macduff with Geoff Ainscough and Jane Frohock playing other multiple parts.

The performance took place in the round enabling the audience to feel part of the action and facial expressions could be seen easily and the dialogue could be heard clearly. As there was no scenery this type of production relied very much on its technical input, specifically lighting and sound which was excellent adding to the overall atmosphere of the play and enhancing the performances on stage, congratulations must go to Jonny Makin for lighting design and to Paul Carr CADOS Head of Technical. Costumes by Rebecca Dickinson were also very important in this type of production, even though the play was in a contemporary setting the costumes needed to be just right for the feel and authenticity of the production, Lady Macbeth’s red sparkly dress was a striking contrast to the rest of the costumes and I felt it made a statement about her character and her place in the story.There were a few personal props used by some members of the cast which were provided by Rebecca Moran.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this excellent production and what a wonderful start to the use of your Studio Theatre. Thank you for inviting me.

 

 

 

 

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