M acbeth
This year’s SSTC Lower Sixth
production gave Macbeth a
radical postmodern reworking
with two female leads.
Directing Macbeth
Set in a not too distant future dystopia, in the urban ruins of a
western civil war fought between rival militias, Mad Max met
The Truman Show. The production retained Shakespeare’s original
language but the text was edited, and scenes reordered.
The VSU film and broadcast team were recruited to join the
performance, in order to film, edit and project live (visible to the
audience above the stage) from multiple cameras. The audience were
to become complicit in the ‘surveillance’ with the aim of stimulating
reflection on their role as consumers of entertainment (or news)
containing such brutality and exploitation. The line between fiction
and reality became blurred: the camera team were highly visible
and the Witches sat amongst the audience, who although initially
distanced, by the final act became part of this violent world through
Malcolm’s direct address, given with dignity by Cameron Roberts.
The job as director is not to come up with all the ideas, but often
to watch what happens when the actor and the text combine.
Whether a modern setting was to everyone’s taste or not, we strove
to achieve an authenticity in each actor’s performance and were
delighted with the reception.
Gavin Henry, Director of Drama
Playing Macbeth Playing Lady Macbeth
I was immediately excited by the prospect of a female Macbeth.
It was a unique experience to be able to take on such a famous
character and convey his humanity instead of portraying an out-
and-out villain. Although being faced with a whole Shakespeare
script was initially daunting, the rehearsal process was an invaluable
learning experience that allowed me to come out of my comfort
zone. I was gradually able to immerse myself in the complex
language and eventually speak the lines naturally, walking on stage
with confidence every night to recreate Macbeth’s journey, This was both exciting and challenging, as Lady Macbeth is such an
enigmatic character. Malcolm famously calls her a ‘fiend-like queen’
and while there is undoubtedly some truth in this, it is a rather
simplistic explanation. Behind her cold façade, we decided that she
experiences feelings of compassion, fear and guilt. We explored these
different facets of the character’s personality during rehearsals by
doing a lot of physical work. For her first speech, for example, I ran
back and forth between both sides of the stage, only stopping very
briefly to say the next line. My exhaustion was like Lady Macbeth’s
conscience: just as I had to fight against the fatigue in order to
deliver the whole speech with the same energy and conviction, so
Lady Macbeth has to overcome her compunctions before she can
murder Duncan. This original approach to Shakespeare’s text helped
me to find ways of conveying the character’s emotional conflict, as
well as the meaning of the language.
Alexia Marza, Lower Sixth
Juliette Imbert, Lower Sixth
“What an incredible production!
The live footage helped create
a haunting atmosphere, and
the audience was blown away
by the professionalism of the
cast. Every student involved
transported us into the
dystopian world of Macbeth.”
Hannah Saint, Lower Sixth
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