hdmacbeth

“Macbeth” The play “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare, is a powerful, dark tragedy depicting the corruption of power. Within the work, a Scottish Lord, Macbeth, is overtaken by his ambition to be king. The underlying evil motives and attitudes are dramatized through his actions and asides. Spiritual components are also an important element throughout the play, achieved by the witches. This production had various components that contributed to its success such as the sets and lighting, costume design, and thematic elements. This unique approach to the play helped meet the director’s vision.

Director, David Z Saltz, generated a condensed performance with an added fable based approach. The fable centered around the puppet-eering of the witches on other characters. They are depicted as a virus that contaminates the other characters with a deadly lust for power. After reaching Macbeth, through Lady Macbeth, they had finally succeeded. This corruption leads Macbeth to kill many people, including King Duncan. These evil actions force he and Lady Macbeth into a state of guilt and paranoia, leading each of them to their demise. The witches continue to spread this disease victim by victim. This fable-like take on the play is an interesting position as it focuses on the over arching themes and motifs. The overall idea of power corruption is evident throughout the play through many elements.

The setting and light design played a crucial part in the assisting the script. There were many needs that were to be met. The foundation of the stage consisted of three large rectangular panels that moved both towards and away from the audience. Each panel consisted of a balcony and staircases, each at different levels, which allowed the interplay between them. The height, width, and depth these provided allowed for greater dimensions to be used throughout the performance. The backgrounds of these panels were simple, tiled, solid colors that allowed for no serious set changes. All stage components were rectangular, which was very representative of the time period. Together, all pieces of the set were very effective.

Another notable feature to be addressed is lighting. The initial element to grab the audience’s attention was crash of thunder and strike of lightning. From that point on, the lights continued to be a crucial aspect. For example, above the stage, four LED scrim panels projected the dark forces within the play. This was a very effective way to incorporate the spiritual influences preset. It was used as a cauldron, a demonic spirit, a floating dagger, and a cleansing of an evil deed. As a very dark play, the lighting used was able to emphasis certain elements of importance.

In addition to the LEDs on stage, many of the characters had incorporated lights in their costumes. Different lights came to represent different things. For example, red lights conveyed a sense of guilt and paranoia that accompanied the shedding of blood. The green lights originated from the witches and were continued to be displayed on those who they infected. The lights indicated the presence of certain spirits within the characters accompanied by their transformation. Another, somewhat less effective element of costume design, was the use of armor as a form of protection against the infection. However, I personally believed that those who were already infected should no longer have been wearing the armor. The plastic used in the costumes seemed to hint at the lack of authenticity within the kingdom and the lack of trust that can be found. It suggests that no one is truly protected from danger or deceit. This remained to be true throughout the thought of the play as betrayal was a prevalent occurrence.

All of these components allow for “Macbeth” to be performed in a new manner. Themes such as corruption of power, spiritual influence, and infectious behaviors, are established throughout. In this condensed production, the fable-like approach is a very effective way in creating an entertaining, aesthetically appealing, and practical play that assists in telling the well-known Shakespearian tragedy.