The Scottish Play...

[fajrdrako]

I just got back from seeing Macbeth at the National Arts Centre.

I'd heard various conflicting reports about it. Some people loved it, some hated it, some were indifferent.

Well, I loved it.

It was just the kind of production I like: minimalist and evocative. Costumes were (mostly) World War II-type military - Macduff had a spiffy kilt and (in commodorified's phrase) an "unfortunate sporan". Staging was brilliant, with a backdrop of grubby glass panes that could be, as needed, a forest, a castle wall, a portcullis, or a barrier to the netherworld - it handled shadows well. Benedict Campbell was a Macbeth with a stunning and powerful voice, who wore braces and military gear like Captain Jack Harkness and delivered his "she should have died hereafter" speech lying on his back under a desk, with a candle between his knees.

There were many oddities, most of them delightful and imaginative, some of them perplexing. I liked the Three Witches as creepy schoolchildren, making giant pomegranates rain down; and Banquo at the feast was the spookiest ghost I've seen in a long time. (His hands!) He kept slipping under the table, an image both grotesque and funny.

Diane D'Aquila was fine and powerful as Lady Macbeth, though I did wonder why she changed after the murders from a dress of a style circa 1942 to one from circa 1888, black with a magnificent bustle. To show the time was out of joint? For the curtain call, she wore scarlet elbow-length satin gloves, a nice touch.

Comments

[chatona.livejournal.com]

Oooh, Macbeth! It sounds like an absolutely terrific production.

[rosiespark.livejournal.com]

in commodorified's phrase) an "unfortunate sporan"

Please do elucidate.

The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Our conversation (balcony, row A, seats 58 and 60):

Me: I like Macduff's kilt.
She: Yes, but it's an unfortunate sporan.
Me: That's an oxymoron.
She: No, it's not. It has dangly bits.
Me: So?
She: It has fuzzy bobbly bits. It's the Bunny Froo Froo of sporans.
Me: Nothing wrong with that.

It was, admittedly, sort of... the kind of thing one might hang on the the rear mirror of one's car if one lived in Las Vegas and had no taste. But no sporan can be truly gratuitous.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It was, it really was. If they make Macbeth too serious it can be tedious or boring, but this (I thought) had just the right touches of surrealism and melodrama - enough to be spooky and sometimes creepy, but the enunciation was excellent so the story came through well, too. Oh, yes, it was terrific. If it was on more nights (or cheaper) I'd like to see it again.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Neat timing. I'm going to see the Southwest Shakespeare Company's production of the Scottish Play, today. Yours sounded neat.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, how cool! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

Any pictures of this sporran? Or other examples? I still don't understand.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

I did enjoy it -- minimalist, traditional staging. The witches wore tree branches and masks. Banquo went into and rose from a trap door. The witches' cauldron was the same trap door compartment.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure you'd understand even if you saw it. I can't find an example online but it looked a teensy bit like this:



except it only had three bobbles. Which means this one is twice as unfortunate as the one in the play. But the one in the play was hairier.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Sound cool! I like it when they do interesting costuming or styling for the witches. We were discussing how we'd like to see it staged with Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, and then decided that it would be impossible, since they would make sure the events of the play never took place.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

The one in the play had the dangly bits all in a row dangling right from the bottom. To me, that makes it even more unfortunate.

I think the only proper sporran for MacDuff would have been made from a grey wolf pelt.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

A wolf pelt - ! Yes, that would have worked nicely in this production.

Sometimes I think I'd like to stage a version of Macbeth. There are other Shakespeare plays I love more, but Macbeth would be fun.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[elebridith]

Sporan!!! *facepalm, then rotflmao* You know what I read? "Sopran"! Which lead me to the image of Macduff saying "Oh horror! Horror! Horror!" with a high-pitched voice... now, what kind of Freudian slip was THAT??
Mmmm, the scottish play! First Shakespeare I ever saw, when I was 17. Prophecies, ghosts - perfect:-)
And really sounds like an interesting production!
I remember the one in London with Rufus Sewell as Macbeth - very little props and decorations, so the actors could shine. And Sewell was excellent.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What I would give to see Rufus Sewell as Macbeth - he would be perfect! The best one I ever saw was Ian McKellen with RSC in 1976. Really good Macbeths can be hard to come by because the character needs a sort of strength and weakness woven together.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[elebridith]

Ian McKellen??? NOW I'm jealous!:-) Wow.
And seeing Rufus Sewell was completely accidental - I was in London for a week and had visited the site of the Globe theatre and then saw the advert for Macbeth. And I jumped the opportunity without really knowing Rufus Sewell at that moment. When I studied the program I realized that I HAD seen him before in a production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia", also in London some years before. I mean, that is destiny - how small are the chances? And he was SO SO good! His eyes are fascinating, very intense and I love his voice. Strength and weakness, yep, that sums it up pretty much. I was sitting in Row 4 and I swear in one monologue near the end he was looking straight at me which made me shrink in my seat - talk about intense eyes! But it could very well be that he stared at me - I was sitting in the middle of a big school class and was practically the only one with her eyes glued to the stage...*g* I became a Rufus fan after that...

[kimsrants.livejournal.com]

i saw Mackers on the PWYC night, and LOVED the set. There were some things that irked me about the production, but that may have been the type of people I saw it with, and the timing of the show (one girl hadn't ever read Mackers and kept asking if it was a comedy..)all the same, I love paying what I can.

Lady M was incredible for the madness scene, I loved the way they did Banquo, and MacDuff had me at hello. My only problem was (at that point) Mackers himself felt weak (as an actor) and couldn't get the ironical Shatner tone out of his voice so the whole "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" scene under the desk was inappropriately hilarious. I'm glad he strengthened as the run went on.

and re: the sporan, the only thing more distracting than those bobbly hairy things was waiting to see if he was wearing the kilt properly. Sadly, he wasn't.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

i saw Mackers on the PWYC night, and LOVED the set.

Yes. It was my favourite kind of set, and done with just the right kind of ingenuity and artistry.

Mackers himself felt weak (as an actor)

As a character, I'd say - that is, I thought it was the directing not the acting itself that made him seem weak. I've certainly seen Benedict Campbell in some strong roles.

one girl hadn't ever read Mackers and kept asking if it was a comedy..

Oh dear. I would hazard a guess that she missed the point.

I loved the way they did Banquo

Me too. I found it funny and scary at the same time - shades of Neil Gaiman.

couldn't get the ironical Shatner tone out of his voice

Was that his voice? I thought it was the visuals, and the way he moved. Whatever it was, I kept thinking "Shatner". It has hard to know how to read that.

the whole "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" scene under the desk was inappropriately hilarious

It was... something. Odd? I'm not sure I found it funny - not very - but I wasn't sure what to make of it.

I'm glad he strengthened as the run went on.

I think he must have.

the only thing more distracting than those bobbly hairy things was waiting to see if he was wearing the kilt properly. Sadly, he wasn't.

Wimpy Canadian actor!

I have a general Macbeth question for you. Before I saw it, a friend of mine, who hadn't seen the show either, said that she'd hear Lady Macbeth was good, and she added that this is important, because if you don't have a good Lady Macbeth, in this play, you have nothing - she's the most important character. I didn't argue because I was thinking about it, but it seems to me that this is Just Plain Wrong. The play isn't about Lady Macbeth, even if she is a striking and important character, it's about Macbeth and the moral choices he makes and the decay of his character. It seems to me that if the play becomes "about" Lady Macbeth, then it's a skewed production. Like making Hamlet all about Ophelia. What do you think?

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ian McKellen??? NOW I'm jealous!:-)

Words cannot describe how wonderful it was, but I'm sure you can imagine.

What luck, to see Rufus Sewell and not even expect him! That happened to me when I once saw Ralph Fiennes in King Lear as Edmund - he was brilliant - I've never heard of him before but I certainly made a note of his name.

I first saw Rufus Sewell in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet and I've loved him ever since. I've never seen a bad performance from him.

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[elebridith]

Ralph Fiennes?? *swoon*
I've never seen a bad performance from him.
Me neither! I bought "Dark City" at first only because he had the lead. Quite a bonus that I liked the movie in itself after seeing it:-)

Re: The Macduff sporan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Now, I still haven't seen Dark City. It's on my list.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd argue that the play is primarily about Macbeth, and secondarily about Lady Macbeth. Both of their moral choices were necessary for the ending -- and both of their (different) reactions to the guilt. I think Lady Macbeth is also essential to the play -- without her urging, Macbeth is just a sociopath or an idiot.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can't argue that Lady Macbeth isn't important. But I don't see her as having equal weight to Macbeth - I think she's more of a variation on the theme.

Interesting theme, though.

I really liked Lady Macduff this time through. And the way her scene was staged.