MacBeth Script

Hello everyone, this is Fiona. The passage I selected comes from the famous play MacBeth written by Shakespeare, and it is from act
I scene ii, line 48-78.The lines I chose from this scene is when
MacBeth and Banquo first met the 3 weird witches. And they told
Macbeth about his future, where he’s going to become the thane of cawdor, and be the king of scotland thereafter. The idea blew
Macbeth’s mind, but he became very attracted to it very quickly.
However, the witches told Banquo that his son will be the King of
Scotland right after, and that Banquo will not be as powerful as
Macbeth, yet much more powerful.Macbeth kind of went mad after the witches said that, he urged to know more, but the witches just vanished, leaving MacBeth there blankly and worried. I think this scene is one of the most important scene in the whole play. This is the scene that basically brought out the whole storyline- the urge of power, the lies, the murder, and many horrible things. It really plays an essential role in foreshadowing what will happen next.!

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The first production I chose is from the production of Royal
Shakespeare, it’s called MacBeth, it is directed by Craig Armstrong.
And the second production I chose is from the theatre production
The Tragedy of MacBeth, directed by Jeremy Sabol. Generally, I prefer the first production better, as the production choices give more impact to the scene, and provide the readers a better understanding of the characters. In both productions, the lighting is very dark, with a thin layer of smoke in the background to build a sense of suspicion when the witches were in the scene, and it also suggests the evilness of this scene. Also, the costumes for the characters in the second production was not as related to the original text. Well, the witches were dressed up quite “appropriately” to show their identity as witches- they had messy and colourful hair, wounds on their face, yellow teeth, etc. Which nicely shows their wickedness as witches. However, for Banquo and MacBeth, they were dressed in nice suit and quite modern shirts. Which I don’t think was very connected to the original play, where they just came back from a battle. But for the first play, I think the costumes and the props nicely demonstrated the characters’ identity. Where the

witches were dressed in filthy clothes, dirty hair, and one of the witches even had a bloody eye. And for MacBeth and Banquo, they had the prop of a horse, and was dressed in armours, which indicates that they just came back from the battle, so the audience could understand the background more. The camera angle of the first production seems to be changing frequently, also to give the viewers different sides and perspectives of the characters, and making the production more attractive. However, in the second production, the camera angle seems to be in front of the characters at all times, which makes the production a bit tedious, and the audience may not feel as involved in the play. The characters of the second production are very static, they tend to stand in one place and talk- the three witches stood in a line and talked for the whole time, while Banquo and MacBeth stood in another line, and it was just a plain conversation rather than an acted out scene, which doesn’t have much impact on expressing the characters’ emotions or feelings. But for the first production, the witches were moving around, standing up or sitting on the ground, different gestures were shown, and Macbeth and Banquo also had many sudden movements. Also, the constant eye contact between the characters really showed the engagement of the characters, which makes the audience more involved into the play. I think these things really make the production more interesting, where movements can show the personality or the feeling of the character, and their gestures can show their identity, etc. The tone of the characters between the two productions were quite different. The witches in the first production really had a evil voice, and it really gives the audience a feeling of wickedness; MacBeth and Banquo constantly raised their voice in the play to express their feelings, and that really engaged the audience. For the second play, the witches spoke in a very soft voice, and it was very hollow, it also gave a feeling of evilness, and it successfully built up suspicion. However, in the second production, Banquo and MacBeth were calm throughout the whole production, there weren’t any dramatic rises or falls that could truly express their feelings. And it gives the audience a sense of that
MacBeth was quite careless of what the witches said, and they seem to be just reading the lines, without putting in much feelings and emotions to make the audience more connected. So overall,

with the above justifications, I think I would prefer the first production more.!

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The first production really brings the text to life, and makes the story much more interesting, so readers/audience will become more engaged in the plot. It also focuses very much on the darkness of this scene (the production had very dark background), and greatly show the evilness of it. The production also greatly brings out suspicious and the wickedness of the witches, which is quite essential for the audience to feel. In the production, the character for MacBeth showed much eager to see the witches again when they vanished. This expression showed that MacBeth was actually really attracted by what the witches were talking about, and showed a bit of his greed for power.!

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In the production, nothing major was omitted from the original play.
But I found this small thing when Banquo was talking, the mention in the original text that he turned to the witches and turned back to
MacBeth wasn’t clearly showed, which might not have made the scene as dramatic. But for hyperbole, I think the part where
MacBeth pointed his sword at the witches to warn them was quite exaggerated. In the original text, the words don’t strongly show
MacBeth’s eagerness to understand what the witches are saying, the original text doesn’t even contain an exclamation mark when
MacBeth talked to the witches. So the production greatly shows that
MacBeth was very attracted by the witches’ words, and was urging to know more (about his “bright” future). I think the director brought this hyperbole in order to show the audience about the hidden greed that MacBeth has, which wasn’t clearly mentioned in the beginning of the original text. Though he didn’t show obvious urge to those titles, but the way that he pointed his sword at the witches really showed his eagerness to know more, and how he wants to have possession of those titles.!

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In my own creation, I did a quick film script according to this scene, and in my interpretation, I imagined MacBeth in the 21st century,

where he is working in a company. In my script, MacBeth’s greed for power and authority is more obvious, where in the beginning, its shows that he’s working very hard in order to get a promotion.
However, when he overhears his co-workers were talking about that his promotion, he acts violently, and demand for more information, which large shows MacBeth’s urge for power. However, his coworker was upset by his violent behavior and leaves him without a word. !

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My interpretation has brought out MacBeth’s hidden traits forth to the audience more clearly. It has made it more apparent to the audience that deep inside MacBeth, he has been longing for the
King’s title, and as a result, it will give the audience a deeper understanding of the character.!

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So think about it, if you connect the original play to my interpretation, you’ll find that though they are in two totally different settings, and characters are different, but the main idea is the same. MacBeth’s urge for a promotion is like he wants to be the king of Scotland. So the value or the purpose of it is really to bring out the true feelings or personality of MacBeth, where is not shown so clearly in the original play.!

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So after listening to my interpretation, do you think that MacBeth has been longing for the king’s title since the beginning of the play?
Or do you think that though he wanted to know more from the witches, but those are just simply out of curiosity? If you think about it deeply, the situation that MacBeth was in was basically like a career life, he needed to climb up slowly, and reach the peak in the end. So I think my interpretation has modernized the situation of
MacBeth to a surrounding where the issue could be more clearly understood by the audience, and it’s also to show that this is also a current issue, so audience could be more connected to what is going on in the scene. !