Portraying the Character of Lady Macbeth

Portraying the Character of Lady Macbeth

Congratulations on getting the part of Lady Macbeth in the recent Old

Vic’s production of the Scottish Play I am writing this letter to give

you some interpretation and tips on how you can portray you character

best on stage. After watching numerous versions of the play, I have

not once seen this character being conveyed as well as the Globe’s

recent production. Hence in this letter I want to clarify and explain

how this scene can be staged best, since it is one of the most

important in the play; your role will need to be played out

exceptionally well. The reason why this scene is so important is that

in this scene we feel sympathy for Lady Macbeth for the first time in

the play, we witness the true depth of guilt expressed for all to see,

and in this scene it is expressed through her actions and words during

her nightmare sleep. We see her suffering and realize the extent of

her actions earlier in the play. I will explain line by line how I

would like to see you play this scene on stage.

At this stage in the play, Lady Macbeth, is an odd one since her

character is so different from the earlier scenes in the play. In this

scene it is crucial that you act with despair and regret in your eyes

and most importantly the audience must feel pity and definitely must

sense sympathy for you. You will need to portray yourself as a totally

different Lady Macbeth in this scene from the one who so coolly

prepared the murder of the King. Her trance-like state must echo that

of Macbeth in Act two, scene one; it is crucial that you convey the

detachment and isolation she is feeling to the audience.

The doctor will be dressed in a black outfit to convey that Scotland

is sick and disordered under the hands or an unnatural evil ruler,

whereas the Gentlewoman will be dressed in a white maids outfit

reflecting her loyalty towards her mistress, looking after her even

during her illness and not revealing her secrets to anyone. As I

witnessed in the Roman Polanski’s version of the Scottish Play, I

thought it was clever for Lady Macbeth’s character to be undressed as

it conveyed the sense of revealing all of your inner thoughts to the

audience quite brilliantly. Although, I don’t know how comfortable you

might feel being nude on stage, I thought that this would be a great

way to portray your character the best. We will negotiate this matter