CRC College Production 2017
'A Macbeth'
In November 2016 I met this group of students for the first time as a cohort. I had two weeks to get to know them enough to select and cast a play that would become not only the College production for 2017 but also 60% of their Unit 3 Grade- The pressure was on. The students struck me with their passion, their enthusiasm and their willingness to push themselves. I had the idea of doing a take on Shakespearean tragedy floating in the back of my mind for a long time and when I met this team it all fell into place. Though the students were slightly daunted by the challenge (and maybe a little surprised by my vision for the production!) they responded as they always have- with a willingness to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone to make something magical. We hope you think so too.
Macbeth: originally written and performed in the Sixteenth Century, a tale of war, pride, greed and one seriously angry wife, was rethought in the 1970s by Charles Marrowitz to delve deeper into the idea of those dark sides of ourselves we try to keep hidden but can’t always control, giving us a play with not one but three Macbeths. In 2017, having met the class I further edited the play to explore the different sides of Lady Macbeth and the connections between the true Noble Characters of Duncan, Malcolm, Banquo and Macduff.
Our play featured eleven wildly talented actors playing: three Macbeths who, from the outset struggle to control themselves and their own fate; two actors playing first Duncan and Banquo, victims of Macbeth’s greed, then Malcolm and Macduff who have the courage to confront the evil power; Three Lady Macbeths who, more driven and ambitious then their husband seem to have the power in their hands… Until you meet the three Witches who may seem as though they are just having fun until you realise that they have had a plan all along and the others are just toys in their game.
The cast also all designed and built the set, sound, lighting, make-up and costumes. No job was too big or small for them: from sewing the costumes to building the blocks used throughout the performance to shovelling in and raking through the two tons of sand that make the floor!
We had an absolute blast creating a crazy and dangerous world of magic and murder and we hope our audience loved it as much as we did. We were lucky enough to have the production filmed so there will be a film version available soon… watch this space!
Chloe Palmer- Director and Producer ‘A Macbeth’ 2017
We hope you love it as much as we do!
By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way comes….
Chloe Palmer- Director and Producer ‘A Macbeth’ 2017
