Mr and Mrs Macbeth

 

 

By Manon Zingarelli

 

On Tuesday 18^th February, we went to the Espace Rohan to watch a play which was called Mr & Mrs MacBeth.

 

Mr & Mrs MacBeth was written by William Shakespeare in 1606. It is a tragedy.

 

This play was adapted by Sam Pinnell and Lucille O'Flanagan.

 

 

 

When we were arrived, it was little shock for staff of the Espace Rohan as we were dressed for Shrove Tuesday. So, some of us were dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, or in pyjamas …

 

It was very funny !

 

We went into the theatre ,and we got 3D glasses.  The staff was not really welcoming  because they were  apparently stressed by our arrival .(It was supposed to be a perforamnce for High school students, yet , they seemed upset there were so many of us...)

 

The play started, and we put the 3D glasses on because there was a 3D screen.

 

The play deals with the story of Mr MacBeth. He was one of King Duncan's general as was Banquo. One day, Macbeth and Banquo saw three witches who told them  a prophecy : Macbeth will be the king and Banquo's son will become a king too.

 

After that, MacBeth was named thane of Cowdor. King Duncan came to his castle ,Macbeth's wife convinced him to kill king Duncan to become  king himself.He did it, and Mrs and Mr MacBeth became the Queen and the King. Malcom and Donalbain, king Duncan's sons fled to England and Ireland.

 

Banquo's son, Fleance, fled abroad too.

 

But MacBeth wasn't happy, as the witches gave him  a second set of prophecies. They said that MacDuff, a noble man, was opposed to MacBeth's accession to the throne, but MacBeth would be safe until the forest comes to his castle and only a baby who was not born naturally, from a woman, would threaten him.

 

To be reassured, MacBeth decided to kill MacDuff's wife and children while MacDuff fled to England.

 

When MacDuff learned the death of his family, he was stricken .

 

He decided with Malcom, to raise an army against MacBeth.

 

Meantime , lady MacBeth killed herself as she became crazy since she and her husband killed Kind Duncan. She cleaned her hands obsessively as she saw blood on her hands everytime.

 

MacBeth was alone when MacDuff's army went to his castle hidden behind branches: the forest came to his castle!

 

Morever MacDuff wasn't born naturally,his mother had a  so it was “a baby who wasn't born of a woman” . The prophecy achieved, and MacBeth was defeated and beheaded.

 

Malcom became the new king of Scotland !

 

 

 

The actors who used a few accessories during the play :

 

-a shield and swords

 

-beds ( which were also used as  the castle's rampart)

 

There were 3 actors ,two men and one girl.

 

Dominic Gould was Mr MacBeth ,

 

Gala Besson was Mrs MacBeth ( and a messenger ) ,

 

and Dan Gutman was Banquo and Macduff.

 

There were other actors that we saw in the screen ,(thanks to the 3 D glasses)

 

Sandy Bernard ,Sally Skelton  who were  witches,

 

Matthew Luret was Malcom,

 

Matthew Vladimery was Donalblain,

 

and Jonathan Hayes was Peter.

 

All the actors were dressed like people in the medieval Scotland with armors for men and dresses for women.

 

Gala Besson , Mrs MacBeth, played very well, she had a dificult part  and she succeeded to show the different aspects of Mrs MacBeth's temper :she showed ambition, greed and craziness too.

 

The fact that the play had a few parts on the screen was  brilliant , because the film waswell introduced in the play and the 3D effects were  captivating !

 

From my point of view ,  mixing a film and a play was a very clever idea !

 

The best part was when the witches talked and smoked, as if they were on the stage, in the play !

 

During the play , there was a lot of effective lighting . It was very important to focus on the actor who talked.

 

I was particularly surprised when they took the bed to make the castle rampart, it was a very good idea and also a very convenient one !

 

The play finished with Malcom's speech, in the screen. If I had directed the play, I would have finished it with a scene on stage, but it's my point of view...

 

After the play, the three actors introduced themselves. I was very surprised to know that one of this actor, Dan Gutman, was French , because we didn't hear his accent !

 

Even if it's a tragedy written by Shakespeare we understood the play well,  as the actors played very well and wanted us to share their enthusiasm for the play.

 

 

 

We thank them for this play which was a very good one !