The Scottish Play Lite

11

21 April 2010

The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Macbeth was done by the same cast and crew as A Midsummer Nights Dream. They took on an ambitous version of the play and it was pretty stable. The actors did were very stable, because for what they were going for, they did exeptionally well. It was HEAVILY cut. I mean 30-40% of the play. The play lost a lot of its meaning along with the words. Macbeth is a play about two intertwining things; murder and ambition. Together, they create an evil, twisted thing that is Macbeth. But if the stump of the tree is cut, the top falls. So if ambition is lost, murder loses its potential. That is what this play lacked. It was like a coin with both sides being tails. The play, unlike plays like Titus Andronicus, isn’t about blood. It’s about two ways to get where you want to be. Kill or work to your goals. People tend to take the easy way out. But this play didn’t really show why Macbeth decided to kill. He just did.

Director (Carmen Khan)

 Her vision of the play was to have all only the portions of text related to murder. This would've turned it into a very dark and creepy play. But it didn't work like she wanted to. Most of it was heavily lit and alot of it wasn't that effective. She split everyone of the stage, one by one over the course of the play until just Macbeth stood, and then after his death they all reappeared, showing the restoration of society But she was trying to make it look like more people came back on stage as the Macbeths left, and she forgot to set up the beginning with everyone on, so they showed what they were building back up to. She had to make a base line to make it effective. It was like the last half of a book.

Macbeth (Ron Henegan)

He started out like a plank of wood. Almost like a robot, but he pulled it together. If I had a Macbeth, he would start as a good strait plank of wood, and as the play progressed, he would be carved, slowly, into what Lady Macbeth thinks he should be. Slowly, but surely, she would turn him into a fiend, wreaking murder and destruction. And when she dies, he would become an animal, half-crazed, half-bloodthirsty. And then there would be nothing.

Lady Macbeth (Christie Parker)

She is the character of ambition, and having that cut, she had not much of a role. She wasn’t bad, she was just useless. The director forgot how important she was when he cut the play. She did every thing well, but she had not much to say. Aced both her long speeches though!

Banquo (John Zak)

Banquo is supposed to be a hearty, young, trusting man. He should not expect Macbeth until he becomes king. But throughout the opening lines Banquo seemed to mistrust Macbeth from the start. He was almost like a daemon. He had a very small part as well.

Macduff (John Greenbaum)

Very small part. But he a very moving scene where he picked up his bloody children (baby dolls) and cursed Macbeth. He screamed and cursed at everything and everyone in the theater. His pain was real. So real it was scary.

Director (Carmen Khan)

She split everyone of the stage, one by one over the course of the play until just Macbeth stood, and then after his death they all reappeared, showing the restoration of society But she was trying to make it look like more people came back on stage as the Macbeths left, and she forgot to set up the beginning with everyone on, so they showed what they were building back up to. She had to make a base line to make it effective. It was like the last half of a book.