Macbeth

The ‘Scottish Play’ is certainly one of the most famous Shakespeare tragedies, not least because of its alleged curse. In 1605, when Macbeth was first performed, belief in the supernatural was strong and the tragic tale of a Scottish general haunted and then destroyed by his own ambition opens with three witches delivering a prophecy that suggests he will one day become king of Scotland. These reappear during the play to frighten the story along and keep audiences unsettled and edgy with incantations and spells, as the bloody murders and battles continue and the body count grows.  A coven of witches is said to have cursed the play for all eternity in revenge for the inclusion of these spoken spells, with ingredients such as an adder's forked tongue, the eye of newt and a frog’s toe. It is certainly one of the most enduring superstitions in theatre lore, still swirling around, more than 400 later, because of the catalogue of stories of ill-fortune visited upon players and companies mounting Mac- er… the Scottish play.  Having fallen foul of ‘the curse’ myself whilst playing Lady M you will forgive me I hope for a somewhat cautious mention.

I am delighted to say that Poulton Drama’s production went entirely without a hitch, indeed from my point of view, was a positive triumph. 

There were so many aspects of this production worthy of congratulations that it is difficult to know quite where to start without running out of superlatives.  Regular readers of my reviews will know that I never mention individual cast members and this production was a perfect example of why – to do so would in effect be a repeat of the programme because this truly was an excellent example of real team work – featuring as it did much double casting, with some really excellent characterisations throughout.  I must congratulation the cast also on their dialogue – delivered wonderfully, with generally very good diction, so that we heard every word, but also with great rhythm so that we could understand the meaning – and matched with some wonderful facial expressions perfectly expressing the whole gamut of emotions. Thank you!    

The open set was absolutely superb with the ‘mist’ swirling round as the audience entered the auditorium so setting the scene perfectly for the foul murders and treachery that were to follow.

I must say here and now that I loved the witches they were superb – opening the play as they do and very successfully appearing to keep everyone edgy and alert throughout the play.  Also many congratulations to whoever did the make-up, the women playing men were made up very well and realistically and the battle scars looks quite horrific in places.  The costumes worked well – I think – although I am still uncertain as to the ‘goggles’ but everyone looked well and comfortable with their attire. 

Very, very many congratulations to anyone and everyone in any way connected with this production, I would say it was a superb example of community theatre at its best – thank you and well done.

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