BELL SHAKESPEARE MACBETH - VCE Theatre Studies Education Resource
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BELL SHAKESPEARE
MACBETH – VCE Theatre Studies Education Resource
This resource is for VCE Theatre Studies students who have selected Macbeth as their Unit 4
performance for study. The resource is designed to complement the rich resources already created
by Bell Shakespeare Learning but recognises that Victorian students bring a particular focus on the
performed work.
Macbeth for a 21st century audience
It is an adaptation (like every production) – the script is a blueprint and needs to be interpreted on
stage… The script that we have is already a truncated play. There were no quarto editions published
during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Macbeth only came to light in the First Folio of 1623, 7 years after he
died. So we have an echo or a resonance of the original full play that he perhaps wrote… the
performers wear contemporary costumes and I have envisaged that they are young, at the start of
their careers, are not cynical or jaded or bitter, but quite optimistic.
– James Evans, Director (full interview below).
Shakespeare’s play, ‘Macbeth’, is said to be cursed. Instead actors and theatre workers refer to it as
‘The Scottish Play’. Superstition has it that if someone says ‘Macbeth’ by accident they have to
reverse the curse. One tradition holds that the actor who utters ‘Macbeth’ must leave the theatre
building, turn around three times on the spot, spit, swear, and then knock to be allowed back in.
Good luck with that one at Arts Centre Melbourne…
CONTENTS
Background to the Play………………………………………………………………………..…2-4
Interview with Director, James Evans………………………………………………………….5-7
Theatre Studies – discussion, analysis and evaluation
Structure, Narrative and Plot……………………………………………………………...8
The World of the Play……………………………………………………………………8-9
Theatrical Styles………………………………………………………………………..9-10
Characterisation……………………………………………………………………….10-11
Language………………………………………………………………………………11-12
Status………………………………………………………………………………………12
Motivations…………………………………………………………………………….12-13
Direction and Use of Space……………………………………………………….….13-14
Actor/Audience Relationship……………………………………………………………..14
Use of stagecraft - including set, costume, properties and sound………….…….14-16
Themes…………………………………………………………………………………….16
How does this production of Macbeth inform your Stagecraft Examination?.............17
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.
BACKGROUND TO THE PLAY
If you’ve found your way to this page you may have by-passed some key resources, ones that could
be oh-so-helpful in your studies of the performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Curious?
Click back and discover:
Synopsis
Background to the Play
Key character profiles
Thematic concerns
Pre-performance activities
Post-performance activities
Live-streamed Q&A with the cast and director, James Evans
#MacbethExperiment
Bell Shakespeare has thrown open the doors to the rehearsal room for exclusive behind-the-scenes
access via social media to start online dialogue with students across Australia around the dilemmas
of Macbeth. To participate in the #MacbethExperiment, simply go to The Players' Facebook page,
follow The Players' Instagram and follow the characters on Twitter:
#MacbethExperiment
Macbeth @Great_Glamis
Lady Macbeth @PartnrOfGr8ness
The Witches @3_WeirdSisters
What you already know…
Let’s hazard a guess that many of you have studied a Shakespearean play, possibly in English or
Literature, and many of you may have performed in a Shakespearean play. So bring this valuable
knowledge with you as you plunge into the study of this production. Ask yourself:
What do I already know about Shakespeare as a playwright – his plays, his life?
What was Elizabethan Theatre – its performance conventions, staging, theatre spaces?
What types of costuming did Elizabethan performers wear?
Where did the audience sit/stand?
What is iambic pentameter? What is metre? What is blank verse?
During Shakespeare’s time what was the political relationship between England and
Scotland?
In Shakespeare’s time how did a nobleman/woman traditionally rise to become a monarch?
Was Elizabethan England a Christian society? Could this be important contextually?
What is superstition? What superstitions are you aware of or believe in?
Before a time of scientific knowledge what role may superstition have played?
What are supernatural forces and how might they link to superstition or even religion?
What is tragedy? What are the literary or theatrical conventions of a tragedy?
What is a ‘tragedy’ in contemporary Australian society? Have we redefined it?
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.
Characters listed in a ‘traditional’ production As this production of Macbeth is an adaptation you may find it useful to consider the full list of characters that appear in many productions of the play. There are over 30 named characters! Duncan, King of Scotland Son to Macduff Malcolm, son of Duncan An English Doctor Donalbain, brother to Malcolm A Scottish Doctor Macbeth A Porter Banquo An Old Man Macduff Three Murderers Lennox Noblemen of Scotland Lady Macbeth Ross Lady Macduff Menteith A Gentlewoman attending Lady Macbeth Angus Hecate Caithness Three witches Fleance, son to Banquo Three apparitions Siward, General of the English Forces Lords, officers, soldiers, attendants and Young Siward, his son messengers Seyton, officer attending Macbeth (From Signet Classic edition 1963) In this production Bell Shakespeare have gathered an ensemble of eight players to interpret Macbeth to the stage. In Shakespeare’s time, the actors were known as ‘players’, so it seems a fitting title to give to the eight performers of this production! Characters in Bell Shakespeare’s 2014 production Macbeth Player - Jack Lady Macbeth Player - Eloise Macduff/Duncan Player - Felix Banquo/Bleeding Captain/Doctor/Murderer Player - Rowan Malcolm Player - David Witch1/Lady Macduff/Lennox Player - Shauntelle Witch 2/Ross/Murderer Player - Stacey Witch3/Boy/Fleance/Lord/Seyton Player - Jane (The Players take on other roles as needed eg apparitions, murderers) With some exceptions, the players have multiple roles. As Outcome 3 has a strong focus on acting and performance, this is a great opportunity to consider how the performers play multiple roles and flex their vocal and physical skills to convey each one. Creative team Director James Evans Designer Mel Page Lighting Designer Nicholas Rayment Composer & Sound Designer Nate Edmondson Movement Director Scott Witt ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync © Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and overseas schools.
A VISUAL OVERVIEW OF WHO’S WHO IN MACBETH
Images source: http://robotteeth.wordpress.com/macbeth/macbeth-characters/
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.INTERVIEW WITH JAMES EVANS, DIRECTOR OF BELL SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH, 2014 What has been your approach to adapting Macbeth for the stage? It is an adaptation (like every production) – the script is a blueprint and needs to be interpreted on stage. There is one specific constraint on this production in that I have been given a ninety minute boundary! There are some logistical reasons for that, to do with our school audiences and the actors’ working hours. The adaptation of the text starts with that premise. But sometimes I find those things interesting – a restraint can make you be more creative. How do you make choices about what to leave out? If you run it all it will run about 2 hours and 15. We are losing about 45 minutes of the script. For instance, the scenes with Hecate (Middleton’s additions after Shakespeare’s death). The script that we have is already a truncated play. There were no quarto editions published during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Macbeth only came to light in the First Folio of 1623, 7 years after he died. So we have an echo or a resonance of the original full play that he perhaps wrote. Fascinatingly, in the banquet scene with Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macbeth says, ‘This is the very painting of your fear, this is the air drawn dagger that led you to Duncan’ (so she knows about it – was there another scene after the murder where he tells her about seeing the imaginary dagger?) Shakespeare himself edited and cut his plays quite heavily for performance. So the idea that we have to do the full text as written is a fallacy. We don’t know what the original performances were. Does it impact on the intended meaning? Macbeth can be more about politics or more about relationships, and I have chosen to focus on the latter. The Macbeths are a couple that are successful and happy and therefore one of the tragedies of the play is the breakdown in communication, fall apart and parted by death. So it is the destruction of their relationship that is central. They strive for something that they really want but when they get it, it is ‘hollow’. What did I do all that for? I.e. tomorrow and tomorrow – the nihilistic Shakespeare. A reflection on power and how it corrupts people. Shakespeare would have faced the same constraints as contemporary theatre directors do; the impact of audience, time, weather, politics etc. So, there are two ways to cut – chip away at each scene and trim those back or you can take out entire scenes. I have mostly done the latter because I think the extended images work well. So I have chopped out the murderers being present with Macbeth, suggesting that they are already there ready to kill Banquo. We have lost the Doctor and the Gentlewoman, so the sleepwalking scene becomes almost a soliloquy which becomes just a series of images that Lady Macbeth describes that I hope are quite chilling What is the context for this version of Macbeth? I don’t like to impose a world on the play. I like it to speak for itself. Apart from the fact that the performers wear contemporary costumes and I have envisaged that they are young, at the start of their careers, are not cynical or jaded or bitter, but quite optimistic. So it becomes a play about the thresholds that you cross. Macbeth crosses one and then another…a series of points of no return. So context is a tricky one because I don’t want to pin it down. In my head too much imposition clutters the play and text. Dropping a world on the play and making the play serves that world is counter- productive. Lady Macbeth – ‘My dearest partner of greatness’ – is a giveaway. She and Macbeth are equals and they know each other really well, these are the characters you can have the most impact on. I ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync © Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and overseas schools.
wouldn’t say she starts as an evil character but I think she has a very strong ambition for herself and her husband. As soon as the murder occurs, Macbeth feels instantly guilty, but her guilt is a slow burn. Initially he is more swayed and led but in crossing the first threshold, something in him dies and he goes on that trajectory toward becoming a tyrant. She realises she wasn’t as tough as she thought she was. In my production, after that first scene they won’t even touch each other anymore. They will be very separate. And that is her lifeline and once he is ‘gone’, she loses her will to live. What does Shakespeare demand of his performers? The language is incredibly muscular. Fortunately for me the actors have been out on the road doing shows in schools for four months already so they are ‘match fit’. Often actors come to a play very raw. But my guys are ready to go and have had every sort of audience you can imagine. It is heightened language, 95 percent is poetry. It is not naturalistic. In Shakespeare’s time, of course no one spoke in iambic pentameter in everyday life. The language was considered poetic and heightened even back then. So the actors have to rise to meet the height of the language and the gigantic images. Lennox’s speech about that terrible night of Duncan’s death and its images. Using the language to its maximum effect. You need to attack the language with the huge high stakes that it demands. The actors are doing ten shows a week in front of demanding audiences – much more like a Shakespearean audience. Is there a design for the show? The set design is very simple for a number of reasons. I want to expose the bones of theatre making. Shakespeare never pretended it was realistic or natural. His actors would speak directly to the audience. So we will have a blank open space, not mask the walls of the theatre. We will have the costumes and props on stage ready to go. They will go to the costume rack and get it. When the actors need blood on their hands they will apply it with a bottle in view of the audience before coming on. A light grey slate coloured floor to transform the space and to show up all the blood. In Melbourne we will have a 100 exposed light bulbs hanging in the space in five rows. To integrate the lighting and the set into a surreal otherworldly environment. Sound design? I have a sound designer/composer, Nate Edmondson, and his music will play a big part in the show. This will reflect the emotional undercurrent of the play. I like a present sound track to help support the performance. Costumes? Contemporary, dark suits, casual clothes for the young lords, a feel of young wealthy privilege – the young royals for instance. I was inspired by the music from LORDE ‘Royals’, but she talks about excess and materialism – some of that will be on display to highlight the grab for status and power. You sit there in your trappings of wealth but what did it really cost you? The character of Malcom will be dialled up. I want to make him a privileged and entitled kind of character who doesn’t do any of the hard work and to add fuel to Macbeth’s motivations. What about the Theatrical Styles? I would describe it as abstract and surreal, it is an exposed style, open and this will be evident in the wide sprawling space of the Playhouse and all the trappings of the theatre will be used. The alienation from imagining we are watching a naturalistic world, breaking down the fourth wall, direct ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync © Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and overseas schools.
engagement with the audience. But this all comes from the text and from Shakespeare himself. When I watch ‘realistic’ versions of Shakespeare they feel like museum pieces. I want this to be much more visceral and engaging as a theatre experience. ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync © Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and overseas schools.
THEATRE STUDIES - DISCUSSION, ANALYSIS, AND EVALUATION
As a student of Theatre Studies you need to approach this production of Macbeth with a particular
focus. The description of the Area of Study is as follows:
VCE THEATRE STUDIES UNIT 4: Performance Interpretation
AREA OF STUDY 3, Outcome 3 - Performance analysis
In this area of study students focus on the analysis and evaluation of the acting and design in a
production selected from the prescribed VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist. They analyse and
evaluate how actor/s interpret the playscript in the performance and the relationship between
acting, direction and design. In doing so students:
Study the character/s in the play and how the actor/s interpreted them on stage
Develop an understanding of the expressive skills used by the actor/s to portray the
character/s, including facial expression, voice, gesture, movement, stillness and silence.
Develop an understanding of other aspects of acting and direction, including focus, the use
of the acting space, the use of verbal and non-verbal language to convey the intended
meanings of the play, the use of stagecraft by the actor/s in the production, and the
establishment and maintenance of the actor–audience relationship.
Study the interrelationships between the acting and the theatrical style/s utilised in the
production.
Refine their understanding of the terminology and expressions associated with analysing
theatrical productions.
Students’ understanding of the techniques being used by the actor/s is informed by techniques
they use to perform the monologue they selected for Outcome 1.
[VCAA Theatre Studies Study Design, 2014, p27]
Structure, Narrative and Plot
The Macbeths are a couple that are successful and happy and therefore one of the tragedies of the
play is the breakdown in communication, they fall apart and are parted by death. So it is the
destruction of their relationship that is central – James Evans, Director
Discuss the structure and the main plot of this production.
Does the director’s comment suggest that the play is linear or non-linear?
Do events happen in sequence? If not, how do they unfold?
At what point do we, the audience, enter the story?
At what point do we leave the story?
Who tells the story? Are there other stories within this play? Whose are they?
How would you describe the language of the play - descriptive, conversational, heightened,
perhaps poetic?
The World of the Play
The world of the play is all those elements that combine to enable us to engage with the characters
and the story – the physical objects, the sound, the light, the suggested era and time, the location,
the relationships etc. We may not be able to locate it exactly but as a world, of its own, we accept it.
What is the world that is presented to us in Macbeth? Director, James Evans, has some insights to
offer:
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.Macbeth can be more about politics or more about relationships, and I have chosen to focus on the
latter
Discuss how relationships between characters are foregrounded in this production?
Were you aware of the politics? Did it impact on the relationships?
Apart from the fact that the performers wear contemporary costumes and I have envisaged that they
are young, at the start of their careers, are not cynical or jaded or bitter, but quite optimistic. So it
becomes a play about the thresholds that you cross.
How were the elements of youth, beginnings and optimism made apparent in the world of the
play?
Dropping a world on the play and making the play serve that world is counter-productive
Discuss what the director may mean here
Consider the world presented. Does it remind you of a particular time or place?
If not, what statement do you think the director is making about the play?
Shakespeare set his play in Scotland and drew his characters from historical chronicles.
Does this production reference Scotland in any way?
Has it been ‘recontextualised’ and if so, to what period and time?
Does the use of SWORDS impact on creating a particular world?
What other choices could be made with regard to weapons?
Consider the status of Macbeth or Lady Macbeth and the stakes that are present for them in
the story. Who could these characters be in a 21st century context?
In Melbourne there will be a 100 exposed light bulbs hanging in the space in five rows. To integrate
the lighting and the set into a surreal otherworldly environment
Analyse and evaluate the impact of the light bulbs in the creation of Macbeth’s world.
Do you agree that Macbeth’s world was ‘surreal’ or ‘otherworldly’?
Theatrical Styles
Shakespeare wrote for the Elizabethan stage and his plays were performed using some commonly
recognised conventions – clear vocal articulation, disciplined delivery of language, slightly elevated
use of movement and gesture, presentational delivery especially in soliloquy, young men playing
female roles, time/place/off stage action written into the text. Arguably, it is the language and its
structure, as well as the exploration of complex and enduring ideas that are captured in
contemporary productions.
Director, James Evans, provides a rich vision for this interpretation. In his interview he talks about
the production having aspects of: abstraction, the surreal, exposure, alienation, a breaking down of
the fourth wall, a sense of the visceral.
Discuss each of these descriptions in some detail and consider how they were evident in the
production
Which aspects reference conventions of Elizabethan Theatre and of Shakespeare’s writing?
Which aspects do you feel reference conventions of more contemporary theatre practitioners
and writers – Brecht, Artaud, Grotowski, Miller, Williams, Albee, Hewitt?
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare’s great tragic plays.
What are some recognised conventions of dramatic tragedy?
Consider the Greek unities of place, time and action.
What are the ‘stakes’ for the key characters in a tragedy?
What does each character stand to lose or to gain in Macbeth?
Does tragedy foreground that an audience may have particular sympathy or empathy for
certain characters?
Analyse and evaluate how this production explored the tragic style
The Players who create the roles of The Witches talk about the ‘ritualistic’ elements within the
production.
Discuss the use of ritual elements in the performance
How were these conveyed? Visually, physically, using stagecraft?
Analyse how the ritualistic elements contributed to the theatrical styles within the production.
The show is quite stylized. The fight scene is quite surprising in that way. We freeze frame and
jump in and out of different bits of action. Scenes have been condensed and pushed forward
– Player, David, who plays Malcolm
What does ‘stylized’ mean?
Discuss which aspects of the performance you feel were ‘stylized’.
How did freeze frames contribute to a sense of stylization?
Analyse and evaluate conventions within the production that were ‘non-naturalistic’.
Characterisation
This production of Macbeth uses an ensemble of players in order to create a range of characters
within the narrative. Player, David commented in the streamed post show Q&A that, We have a cast
of eight so there is some condensing of characters, some are left out and others are merged. The
character of Malcolm (Duncan’s son), uses some of the Porter’s texts.
Consider the two key characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, in this production. These characters
are portrayed by the players, Jack and Eloise.
Create a detailed character profile for them – including their relationship to other key
characters, how they are spoken about, how they interact with each other
What characteristics does each character have? Are they ambitious, generous, envious,
loving, conspiratorial, loyal etc?
Analyse and evaluate the performers use of expressive skills – voice, movement, gesture,
facial expression, use of space
Consider key scenes. For example, Lady Macbeth urging Macbeth on, the murder of
Duncan, Duncan bestowing knighthood on Macbeth, Macbeth encountering the witches,
Lady Macbeth washing the blood from her hands, Macbeth’s confrontation with Macduff
Carefully consider each performers’ use of non-verbal language and how we receive that.
Select particular scenes or moments when your gaze was drawn to characters who were
still or non-verbal
Why was your gaze drawn to them? How did directorial decisions impact on this?
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.A number of the ‘players’ in this production perform multiple roles.
Banquo/Bleeding Captain/Doctor/Murderer are all played by Rowan
Witch/Murderer/Lord Ross are all play by Stacey
Analyse and evaluate how each of these performers created those characters
Consider the use of expressive skills that each performer brings to each role
How did they manipulate their voice?
How did they use different gestures or movement?
How did they relate differently to different characters?
How did they change character? Did the audience see this? Was it achieved off stage?
Discuss and evaluate the way the performers played different genders in the performance
It can be argued that certain characters are ‘functional’ in Macbeth in that they represent particular
ideas or themes.
Spend some time discussing the role of the Witches in the production
What ideas do they represent – prophecy, ambition, struggle, evil, influence, guilt, desire,
other?
How are the witches characters portrayed – physically, vocally?
What types of witches are they? Are they familiar?
Analyse and evaluate the choices made with regard to using ANIMAL MASKS
Evaluate the performers expressive skills in conjuring up these characters
The murderers are a necessary presence in the production
What is their function? What do they represent?
How are they portrayed – physically, vocally?
Consider the ‘next generation’ of characters – Fleance and Malcolm – what do they represent in the
greater story of succession and power?
Gender and the playing of gender is worthy of some focus when analysing Shakespeare. In
Elizabethan times, boys played the female roles. Beyond the main roles, how is gender played in
this production?
Player, Shauntelle, talks about playing Lord Lennox. She states that, as a woman you find
different nuances.
Player, Jane, plays Macduff’s child as a girl called ‘Penny’.
Discuss the choices that have been made here
Analyse and evaluate what impact if any they had on the intended meaning of Shakespeare’s
play.
Language
As discussed earlier, Shakespeare’s language is a key convention of Elizabethan Theatre and a
clear reference to its time.
Player Felix, who plays Duncan and Macduff, comments on his FB post that Shakespeare challenges
the actor because his language is …so heightened, you have to meet the emotional states, commit
to that moment and think on the line or it doesn’t look real or believable.
Discuss how language contributed to creating the world of the play
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools. How did it create status and stakes?
How did it create tension and drama?
How did it impact on you as a member of the audience?
You need to attack the language with the huge high stakes that it demands…the actors have to rise
to meet the height of the language and the gigantic images – James Evans, Director
Did you journey with the characters on their emotional ride?
Analyse and evaluate how the performers used LANGUAGE to portray their character
How did the heightened language generate strong visual images ie of blood, of power, of
despair, of resolve?
Status
The narrative of Macbeth is ripe for exploring status. High born characters, power and ‘vaulting
ambition’. There is a clear hierarchy between characters in the production because it concerns kings,
noblemen and war. However, the director has focused the production on the personal relationships
so it is useful to analyse how status works in this way.
Consider the interactions between some of the key characters in the production.
In particular focus on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
What is the status relationship between them before Duncan is murdered?
What is the status after Duncan is murdered?
What is the status closer to Lady Macbeth’s death
In my production, after that first scene they won’t even touch each other anymore
– James Evans, Director.
Discuss and analyse how this directorial decision conveyed the status relationship between
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
How did the performers use their expressive skills – voice, gestures, focus, movement,
stillness – to convey status and shifts in status?
Evaluate the effectiveness of these status plays – was the status within their relationship
clear? Was it ambiguous?
Now consider the interactions between Banquo and Macbeth, Macbeth and Macduff, Macbeth and
the Witches:
Analyse the status relationships between these characters at various points within the
production
Banquo and Macbeth begin as friends, Macbeth and Macduff end as enemies – how are
these relationships conveyed? How are the shifts indicated?
What is the relationship between Macbeth and the Witches? Who has higher status? Does it
shift and change?
Motivations
What does each character want and why? Some of the themes that the play explores are ambition
and desire.
Director, James Evans, says that the play is, a reflection on power and how it corrupts people.
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools. Analyse how power acts as a motivation in the play
Analyse how corruption motivates particular characters
Initially [Macbeth] is more swayed and led but in crossing the first threshold, something in him dies
and he goes on that trajectory toward becoming a tyrant – James Evans, director
Discuss this statement by the director
Analyse how Macbeth is ‘swayed’. What sways him? Why does he cross the threshold?
How are these motivations conveyed by the performer?
How are they made evident to us through the delivery of language, the use of movement,
gesture, facial expression and other non-verbal language?
In one of the most famous scenes in Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to murder
Duncan
What motivates Lady Macbeth?
How does the performer use expressive skills – voice, gesture, movement, stillness, facial
expression and other non-verbal language to convince Macbeth?
After Duncan is murdered, what motivates Lady Macbeth’s actions?
Analyse and evaluate the strong shift between before and after Duncan’s death and how the
performer conveyed these shifts.
Direction and Use of Space
Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse Sydney Opera House, Playhouse
The production of Macbeth has been created for the Playhouse spaces at the Sydney Opera House
and Arts Centre Melbourne. These spaces are quite similar in design and function. In his interview
for these resources, director James Evans, talks about exposing ‘the bones of theatre making’, that
there will be ‘a blank open space’ that will ‘not mask the walls of the theatre’.
Discuss his description. Do you agree with it? What opportunities did these choices allow
for?
How did the performers use this space? What exits and entrances exist?
Select some key moments or scenes – the murder of Duncan, the post murder scene
between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the first scene with the witches, the death of Lady
Macbeth, the battle with Macduff ?
Analyse how the performing space was used in these particular scenes
Where was your focus or gaze drawn most often?
Evaluate the directorial decisions made with regard to space
Which characters used the downstage area most often?
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools. Which characters were confined to particular areas of the stage?
How did the use of space reference the theatrical styles?
How did the use of space by the performers convey status?
How did the direction reflect or contribute the theatrical styles in the production? How did the direction
create dramatic tension? How did the direction heighten our attention to Shakespeare’s language?
Actor/Audience Relationship
The director and the performers talk about this production and how it honours Shakespeare’s
intentions with regard to the audience. The use of soliloquy is a powerful element of Shakespeare’s
plays and it is designed to enable characters to address the audience, sometimes acknowledged
and possibly made complicit in plans and schemes, and at others enrolled as receivers of
confessions or inner thoughts.
Shakespeare never pretended it was realistic or natural. His actors would speak directly to the
audience – James Evans, director
Discuss moments when the performers spoke to the audience
Did you feel you were being directly addressed?
How did the performer/s use their expressive skills, space and timing to address you?
Performer, Rowan, commented on his FB post that there is really no fourth wall in the production;
We see the audience at the beginning of the show. We are playing it as Shakespeare wrote it with
soliloquies to the audience.
Discuss how the use of soliloquy created particular actor/audience relationships in the
performance
Did you feel that you were looking in at the characters’ lives at any point?
If so, did this make it feel that there was a fourth wall?
Analyse the absence and/or presence of a fourth wall in the performance
There are movement sequences where we freeze the action and then characters step out of that
moment to address the audience – Performer, Rowan
Consider how this convention referenced the theatrical styles that were present in the
production
Did this convention feel ‘non-naturalistic’?
Use of stagecraft - including set, costume, properties and sound
Set
So we will have a blank open space, not mask the walls of the theatre. We will have the costumes
and props on stage ready to go. They will go to the costume rack and get it. When the actors need
blood on their hands they will apply it with a bottle in view of the audience before coming on - James
Evans, director
There are a number of stagecraft elements mentioned in this description – the blank open space,
costumes on stage, use of props such as blood
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools. Analyse how the set design created a sense of a blank open space
How did this design enable multiple locations to be created?
How did it enable the performers to use the space?
Director, James Evans, describes the aesthetic of the production as having ‘a feel of young
wealthy privilege…excess and materialism’ and that ‘some of that will be on display to highlight the
grab for status and power’
Discuss this description of the design aesthetic
What aspects of the design do you feel represented wealth or privilege?
What aspects of the design do you feel represented status and power?
Props
Focus on the props used in the production
Make a list of the props
How were they ‘stored’ or how did the actors obtain them when required?
Were props transformed at all?
Which props ‘belonged’ to particular characters?
Discuss whether certain props became symbols or metaphors within the play. When and
why?
Costume
One of the Macbeth Players, Stacey, posted a short video on the FB page about the role of costume
in creating character. She said:
In playing the Witch – ‘I wear a sparkly black short skirted costume’. As the Murderer – ‘Really heavy
boots that give me a certain weight which changes the way I move’. Lord Ross – ‘The formal trench
coat which is a great hook and instantly feels very different and very corporate’
Analyse how each of these costumes enabled Stacey to play the different characters
Evaluate the design in terms of its effectiveness at reflecting the character in the world of the
play
Focus on the costumes that were worn by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in this production
The director is aiming for a feeling of privilege. Analyse the costumes these two characters
wore with the notion of ‘privilege’ in mind
As the narrative progressed, did their costumes change? Did costume link to motivation? Did
it link to changing status?
Select two other characters from The Witches, Duncan, Lady Macduff, Malcolm, and Banquo
Analyse how costume enhanced the portrayal of the character in terms of age, status, and
function.
What did you notice about make-up and hair in the production?
How did the convention of performers playing multiple characters allow for strong decisions
about make-up and hair?
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.Sound
This production of Macbeth has its own sound and composition design. The focus on an individual
sound design suggest that it will be an integral part of the production. Director, James Evans, says:
I have a sound designer/composer, Nate Edmondson (https://soundcloud.com/nate-edmondson)
and his music will play a big part in the show. This will reflect the emotional undercurrent of the
play. I like a present sound track to help support the performance
What do you recall about the sound and composition in the production?
Did the sound have a particular aesthetic?
How did sound contribute to the drama, tragedy, and mood?
Did the sound have a function ie to convey a shift in time and location?
Did particular sound choices relate to particular characters ie were motifs established?
Analyse and evaluate the choices made with regard to sound
Themes
Some of the key themes explored in Macbeth are: Loyalty and trust, betrayal and deception,
ambition, appearance and reality, sleep and death, blood, the supernatural, good and evil
Think back across your analysis and discussion of the world of the play, characterisation,
direction, and design
How were these themes explored or represented through the elements and conventions of
theatre and the chosen theatrical styles?
Did certain characters embody particular ideas or themes?
Analyse how Shakespeare’s language spoken aloud by the players conveyed the intended
meaning of the play
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.How does this production of Macbeth inform your Stagecraft Examination?
Consider the two monologues below by two of the key characters in the play.
Recall how they were staged in the production
What directorial decisions had been made?
What design and stagecraft decisions had been made?
If you were to present these as part of your stagecraft examination what aspects would you
retain that reflect the overall vision for the work?
(Upon receiving Macbeth’s letter that he has been made Thane of Cawdor and that Duncan and his
retinue will be shortly visiting)
Lady Macbeth (Act I, Sc V)
The raven itself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, no keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my mill for gall, your murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor the heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry ‘Hold, hold!’
(Upon receiving the knowledge that Lady Macbeth has died)
Macbeth (Act V, Sc V)
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Top the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his our upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing
ONLINE RESOURCES MACBETH
VCE Theatre Studies Education Resources written by Meg Upton, Arts-in-Sync
© Bell Shakespeare 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, this material may be
used, reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australian and
overseas schools.You can also read
