Lloyd's Macbeth lacks unorthodox staging. But he makes up for this loss through providing political commentary. He sets the story in the aftermath of an environmental crisis. It forces the audience to see the future of the planet they love. It doesn't follow a post-apocalyptic storyline. It's a battle for control as opposed to a collective effort to rebuild society. But again, you get to see it through a unique staging lens as an audience member. Not only does the presentation draw you in by taking place up close. It relates to you because the prospect of an environmental crisis pertains to everyone. There's even a bit of irony in the staging if you think about it. The play brings you closer to the real world rather than trying to let you escape. …show more content…
It's where people go to remove themselves from their reality. A couple of hours at the theater can add excitement your mundane, daily routine. Or, it can offer hope for people to come together and build a better world. Well, when it comes to Macbeth, you don't often think of moral upliftment. So disregard what I said because this last production is one that hits close to home. It's a performance that comes straight to you as though the actors were your house guests. Also, it had a direct tie to a significant problem at the time. Bu first, let me offer a little background information. RIFT is a theater company comprised of two individuals. Felix Mortimer and Joshua Nawras were responsible for this version of Macbeth. And their inspiration stems from something powerful. Unlike the other directors, their work didn't emerge because they wanted to do Shakespeare. Instead, their vision came from real life. No more than four years ago, the people of London were suffering from a housing shortage. Due to an increase in housing costs and a decrease in supply, less than half of the population owned homes. So these two saw Macbeth as a way to pinpoint and exploit their city's housing issue. What makes it so cool is the use of a real-life setting and circumstance. Their stage is enormous not only because it uses an entire building. Balfron Tower in London has a tight-knit design that represented the housing situation. But it's …show more content…
There is no correct way to interpret or present his work. In an interview with Jamie Lloyd, he says he try's to approach a classic as if it were a play no one's every seen before. His quote should apply to Shakespeare above all else. Theater, as a whole, is an every changing art form. And Shakespeare is an entity that grows and evolves. It's impossible to keep track of, which is why we can't appropriate it based on cultural or social ideals. Staging is how a director contextualizes the action. Thus, there's no limit to what we can do with Shakespeare. It's important that audiences realize this. After all, being flexible to different interpretations is a fundamental part of the theatre. No other art form conveys something so vivid and exciting right before your eyes. As for myself, I wouldn't mind seeing anyone of these versions of Macbeth. It's obvious that they each stem from out-of-the-box thinking. There's no one method of good storytelling. So don't be afraid to invest in something more
The characters in the story do not openly speak to the readers instead the reader is left to decipher the though and motives behind the actions each character, this is where Shakespeare use of foreshadowing helps the audience. Another helpful mechanism that can be found in his style of writing are his use of soliloquies and asides, they let the audience get feel of Macbeth’s though when the characters are speaking “alone” in the novel. One example of a soliloquy in the scene which Macbeth says to himself “To be this is nothing, but be safely thus…” which illustrates his disappointment at the feeling he thought he was going to be having while being king. Now being the king as he aspired, instead of being happy he fears for his life. Mostly, because of the own actions that he has committed in order to get where he is at
Through its historical settings it captivates the audience more than the play, which is understandable due to the play having a different goal. Slightly, the film boasts better characterization than the play, albeit only because its approach is more natural, which appeals to today’s audience more. But, the play is superior in tone due to its theatrical nature, When comparing the two adaptations of Macbeth, one must realize that the two have different audiences and goals. For example, the setting plays a significant role in both adaptations and appears to be more prominent in the film, but this is due to the fact that the play is placing more emphasis on the actors rather than the setting. Similarly, the film is often nuanced while the play is theatrical, with the latter frequently being outlandish to most audiences because the approach is not aimed at them. All in all, the film proves to be superior to the play, but the play has aspects such as its tone that should not be
“In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.”
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
Macbeth is a play about tragedy. It tells the tale of one man’s evil rise to becoming king and his tragic downfall that led to his death. Nevertheless, it is also a play about the political history surrounding that king. Shakespeare took the story of Macbeth from Raphael Holinshed’s Scottish Chronicle in 1570 and even more from the second edition, Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1587. From these books he was able to take bits and pieces of history, combine events, omit others, create his own tale of King Macbeth and make it appealing to the King and people of his time.
No society remains immobile, even if some human beings resist changes. The advances in technology and the emergence of new beliefs allow people to have a broader imagination. Thus, numerous new interpretations of ancient works, whether they are plays, folktales, or poems, permeate around the world. These renditions re-tell the original stories in contexts that adjust to modern world. What was regarded serious in the past becomes mockery nowadays. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English play writers, has a profound influence upon different societies globally since the fifteenth century, for his plays inspire many contemporary artists to present new scopes reflecting their societies. Considered as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Macbeth has a completely disparate interpretation in the movie Scotland, PA, which translates the original play into a black comedy. A Scottish royal and general, Macbeth the protagonist undergoes a demonic transformation in personality, in which he unethically takes the crown by murdering numerous characters. The director of the movie alters the plot while maintaining the basic semblance of power, ambition, and masculinity from Shakespeare’s work. In the movie, the alteration of the process Macbeth usurps the power of Duncan, including his internal and external incentives, gives the audience a fresh perspective on one of the English classical plays.
Even after four hundred years, Shakespeare's plays still continue to resonate with modern audiences. This is because Shakespeare's plays explore universal themes which still remain relevant in today's society. In Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically explores how one man's excessive ambition and greed for power led him to tyranny and absolute destruction. The ideas explored in Macbeth still remain relevant in the contemporary world where individuals can get tempted by wealth and power and forget all sense of moral direction.
When looking back on the recent decades or even last week, it is not difficult to find a Macbeth-like figure in mainstream American culture. In this it is meant that these individuals experience a downfall in an attempt to gain power. One such figure was former President Richard Nixon.
Prior to deciding whether or not conflict is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH, one must consider all the dramatic factors that contribute to the Shakespearean play. The gradual decline of the protagonist , the role portrayed by characters and the order in which the events occur, greatly influence the direction in which the development of the play takes place. After reading the text MACBETH, by Shakespeare and viewing the film version, directed by Roman Polanski, it is logical to see that ambition and the deceptive appearances of what really is, is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH.
I am sure that the “Bard of Avon” would be pleased by the modern adaptation, for Macbeth, as is true for all of his plays are timeless for they address the core of human nature - both good and bad.
William Shakespeare is the most performed and read playwright whose works captured the complete range of human emotions. He wrote various types of plays including comedies, romances, tragedies, and tragicomedies. Macbeth, is one of his most famous tragedies he wrote between 1599-1606. The dramatic alterations made by Shakespeare bear little resemblance to the facts, leading us to conclude to three main purposes. The first being the dramatic. Hoping to capture the attention of his audience Shakespeare changed the plot making it much more dramatic than found in his Holinshed source. Second, the thematic affect. He wanted to create a more complex characterization of Macbeth.
While this may be attributed to the use of the themes of Macbeth throughout modern media, I think that the original feels “too plain” on text. “The Flood” archetypal plot that serves as the basis of the play takes over too much of the story. This leaves little to no room for other interesting sub plots, such as Macbeth’s relationship with his wife and the affects of the Witches’ evil concoction. Despite the many shortcomings of the text, when acted out on stage and drawn into a comic-book style, the extremely important themes start to have relevance to our modern lives. The most prominent example of this is the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, as it was emphasized in the first few scenes of the text and then slowly became irrelevant as the plot advanced.