Embedded Files
Key skills for Unit FourAnalyse the character/s in the production including function and purpose, objective/s, motivation/s, status and traitsAnalyse and evaluate interpretation of a script in performance by actor/s, director/s and designer/s, including the acting, direction, design and elements of theatre composition used and the interrelationships between acting, direction and designAnalyse the use of focus, the acting space and verbal and/or non-verbal language to convey the intended meanings of the scriptAnalyse and evaluate:
- the acting, directorial and design decisions made in interpreting a script
- the application of elements of theatre composition in interpreting a script
- the use of acting and design in the performance
- the establishment and maintenance of the actor–audience relationship
AMAZING EXAM RESOURCE!
Includes practice questions and lots of video recordings of the live show.Click on the images below and use the password: LadyM2024And TEACHERS' NOTES
Act Two Scene 11
Lady Macbeth breaks the fourth wall and enters the auditorium, directly addressing the audience.SYNOPSIS
In an exhilarating epic of ambition, cunning and lust for agency, playwright Zinnie Harris reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy from the perspective of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth has been told he will be King. Lady Macbeth tells him it will happen today.
Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Lutton delivers a visually arresting spectacle as the Malthouse is ingeniously transformed into the 11th century and the Macbeths attempt to claim the throne they believe is their destiny.
RPReplay_Final1722072691.movPRODUCTION TEAM
ZINNIE HARRIS: Writer
Matthew Lutton: Director
CAST
BOJANA NOVAKOVIC: Lady Macbeth
JOHNNY CARR: Macbeth
TONY BRIGGS: Ross, Murderer 1
TYALLAH BULLOCK: Mae, Malcolm
JESSICA CLARKE: Missy, Lady Macduff
JIM DALY: Duncan, Murderer 2
RASHIDI EDWARD: Banquo
NATASHA HERBERT: Carlin, Servant
KHISRAW JONES-SHUKOOR: Bloody Soldier, Lennox
DAVID WOODS: Macduff, Doctor, Courtier 1
DESIGNERS
DANN BARBER: Set & Costume Designer
AMELIA LEVER-DAVIDSON: Lighting Designer JETHRO WOODWARD: Composer & Sound Designer
INTENDED MEANINGS
Shakespeare's Macbeth explored oppression and power, 'the illness of ambition'.
Zinnie's re-writing of Macbeth explores misogyny (dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women), sexual politics, patriarchy, feminism.
Explores the 'glass-ceiling feminist push versus the patriarchal machine that keeps pushing (us) back from progress.
CONTEXTS
TIME AND PLACE
Macbeth (An Undoing) was first written in 2022/3
The playwright is Zinnie Harris. She is British and lives in Edinborough, Scotland.
Zinnie's setting of the play is unclear from the script, but previous versions have indcated that Harris set the play "in 1930s Scotland during an economic depression and the pre-World War II rise of fascism. She also introduces class into the action in assertive ways, as Shakespeare’s play mostly excludes Scotland’s underclass".
Macbeth (An Undoing) is a present-day, period production of Shakespeare’s original Macbeth that fragments or becomes subverted. You could argue that the play, Macbeth (An Undoing), is set in the here and now, while the play-within-the-play, Macbeth, takes place in 11th Century Scotland. Matthew Lutton made the directorial decision to set Macbeth (An Undoing) in Scotland during the 11th century, alongside a contemporary time period.
CULTURE
The timing of this reinterpretation aligns, Harris believes, with society’s growing interest in diverse stories and a deeper understanding of overlooked narratives. She aims to explore the story through a different lens by shifting the perspective from Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, highlighting themes of power and control over women, addressing their portrayal and agency in stories, and resonating with contemporary audiences and current societal dialogues.
Recognising that witchcraft and the paranormal no longer hold the same cultural significance as it did when the original was written and set, Harris aims to reimagine Macbeth's three 'weird sisters' in a way that reflects modern issues of women’s marginalisation. Roar
LANGUAGE
‘The first half of my version is broadly faithful to the original—probably about 60% of it is Shakespeare and 40% is mine. Then in the second half I completely flip, and the new story takes off. So I knew I’d have to be writing new material but that I’d have bits of Shakespeare within that....in the end I had to find a new form in which the two could crash into each other.’ ZINNIE HARRIS
Harris incorporates Shakespeare’s original text both as written and reassigned to other characters, as well as integrating her own language.
CIRCUMSTANCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLAY
Zinnie Harris' Macbeth (An Undoing) is an adaptation of Shakespeare's, Macbeth, which reimagines the story from Lady Macbeth's perspective
INFLUENCES ON THE PLAYWRIGHT
Influenced by the original source material, Shakespeare's, Macbeth, which was first written and performed in the early 17th century, and set in the 11th century.
interested in plays from the Western canon with central female roles she believes are either underdeveloped or misunderstood.
aims to reframe these roles with a contemporary and more empathetic understanding of women and their motivations.
Harris considers that we actually have an incomplete version of Shakespeare’s original Macbeth—that material has been cut or that there is a missing section, which gave her licence to imagine what would happen if she could fill that gap and tell the story of how Lady Macbeth goes from a strong woman to somebody who is fragmenting.
INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR
macbeth_(an_undoing)___matthew_lutton,_director (1080p).mp4Weird Sister's are 'time maidens', controlling and manipulating fate and timelines, managing the curse of the play and the story.
WHAT DOES THE DIRECTOR DO??
The director is responsible for establishing the overarching vision, or 'the foundation' for the show, and then working collaboratively with the design team to ensure the vision is met. This includes deciding on the theatrical style/s, context/s, and meanings. The director is also responsible for deciding on how the acting space will be used, including the blocking - the movement of the actors and design features in the space.
Some key decisions made by Matthew Lutton, the director of MAU, include:
~ to keep the setting of Macbeth (An Undoing) in Scotland during the 11th century so that "the contemporary parts of the story had the biggest disruption - so that the feminist politics and ideas would speak the loudest."
~ asymmetrical set design - no centre point
~ "A rotating space that has many rooms"
~ "make it feel like a tracking shot, in a film"
THE RAVEN
Ravens in Macbeth symbolise ill omen and death. However, other interpretations see ravens as symbolising ancient wisdom, intelligence and transformation. Why is a raven like a writing desk I wonder...hmmmmm
"The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan" (Lady Macbeth)
THE SNOW
Some common symbolic meanings associated with snow include purity, isolation, stillness, individuality, transformation, rebirth, and death.
THEATRE STYLE AND CONVENTIONS
Macbeth (An Undoing) can be referred to as a piece of 'ecclectic' theatre. Eclectic theatre juxtaposes the conventions of a combination of theatre styles in a way that is innovative, transformational and creative.
Below lists the dominant theatre styles and conventions evident in the live performance.
META THEATRE
By exposing the mechanics of theatre and the performative aspects of life, metatheatre invites the audience to critically examine the relationship between art and reality, as well as the role of theatre in society.
CONVENTIONS
- Breaking of the fourth wall
- Direct address
- Deliberate reference to the play being performed
- Use of Theatre Terminology ("where's the stage manager?")
- Self-referential through:characters discussing their role in play and ommenting on playwrights’ choices
- Disruption of Narrative Structure, eg: blurring the lines between the characters’ “real” world within the play and the “play” they perform within that world
- Play Within a Play
‘I wanted to be really clear that I’m putting on a play—and that the players in the play are putting on a play.’ZINNIE HARRIS
Macbeth begins with an actor onstage discussing the act of playmaking and acknowledging that the audience is familiar with the original work (and expects violence). This setup creates a dialogue between Shakespeare’s original and the contemporary version, which is a theme that persists throughout the performance.
The Witches and Lady Macbeth become increasingly aware of their roles within the play. Lady Macbeth, in particular, resists being forced back into the Shakespearean narrative where she ends up killing herself. She tries to steer the play in a different direction, challenging her predetermined fate. This meta-theatrical approach adds layers of theatricality and highlights the construction of the story itself.
In contrast, the male characters and Lady Macduff are unaware that they are in a play and simply follow their roles. This device allows the playwright to unpack and add to Shakespeare’s language, while maintaining a sense of theatricality.
The Witches and Lady Macbeth become increasingly aware of their roles within the play. Lady Macbeth, in particular, resists being forced back into the Shakespearean narrative where she ends up killing herself. She tries to steer the play in a different direction, challenging her predetermined fate. This meta-theatrical approach adds layers of theatricality and highlights the construction of the story itself.
In contrast, the male characters and Lady Macduff are unaware that they are in a play and simply follow their roles. This device allows the playwright to unpack and add to Shakespeare’s language, while maintaining a sense of theatricality.
FEMINIST THEATRE
Feminist theatre had two main objectives: to raise consciousness of the social and political issues which concerned women and to improve the conditions of women working in the theatre.
CONVENTIONS
Women are the subject, not the object
Disrupts traditional notions of gender
Role-reversal
Telling stories of often ignored but influential historical figures
Telling the unjust stories of women who have been oppressed
Critiquing systems of power that keep women oppressed
Alternative narrative structures: It tends to reject linear narrative, often opting for open-ended, circular, or episodic plots.
REALISM
Realism is a style of theatre that attempts to create 'a slice of life' on stage.
CONVENTIONS
Believable characters and psychologically driven drama
Costumes authentic to reflect status, context, characteristics, etc
Doesn’t break 4th wall/representational acting
Dialogue is not heightened for effect, but that of everyday speech / Vernacular
Use of Acting Skills are nuanced and psychologically motivated
EXPRESSIONISM
Expressionistic work is not interested in creating a literal representation of life, but instead focuses on reflecting the emotional state or a visceral response.
CONVENTIONS
Dreamlike/nightmarish atmosphere.
Bizarre shapes, sensational colour.
Stark simplified images reflect theme.
CONTEMPORARY GOTHIC
Emphasis on the power of the unknown and unseen, nature/landscape against which humans are ultimately powerless.
CONVENTIONS
Settings are often isolated, abandoned or confined.
Nature is powerful and symbolic
Use of sound effects to create atmosphere.
Silence used to create tension
Supernatural or other worldly element
Lighting used to create stark shadows
Symbolic use of props
Recurring motifs
ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
Elizabethan Theatre is a style of performance plays which blossomed during the reign of Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603).
CONVENTIONS
Elaborate costumes: rich and colourful to reflect status
Presentational acting
Direct address (during asides, prologue, soliloquy, epilogue)
Double casting (actors playing multiple roles).
Use of hand props/minimal use of props
Movements stylised and dramatic
Gestures were appropriate but stylised and highly selective for tragedy
Trap door used to drop characters into Hell or raise characters up from beneath.
Clear articulation of the voice; slightly elevated tone
JACOBEAN THEATRE
Jacobean Theatre refers to the drama that was written and performed during the reign of Elizabeth’s successor, James I (1603-1625)
CONVENTIONS
Dramas centred on moral corruption and violent stories of revenge
Representations of the society in which they lived, dramatised in exciting titillating stories, full of sex and violence.
Extreme violence was being portrayed on the stage.
INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCTION ROLES
Production roles do not work in isolation, but instead work together to achieve the production aims. When analysing the interrelationship between production roles, it's important to start with asking what was the intended meaning of a particular moment or aspect of the show, or what did the production team want the audience to understand or think about while watching the production. Once you have identified a meaning, you can then start analysing how production roles worked cohesively to make the meaning clear to the audience.
Below is an example of the interrelationship between direction and costume design:
DIRECTORIAL DECISION
To set Macbeth (An Undoing) in 11th century Scotland and the modern day. Lutton (Director) made this decision regarding context "so that the contemporary parts of the story had the biggest disruption - so that the feminist politics and ideas would speak the loudest".
IMPACT ON COSTUME
Lutton’s decision to contrast time periods influenced Dann Barber’s costume designs, which consisted of juxtaposing 11th century garments with modern day underwear/active wear. Barber applied conventions of Realism to convey this contrast, specifically ensuring costumes were authentic to context and status.
DESCRIBE IN DETAIL
Lady McDuff’s medieval full-length green gown with gold embroidered trims and King Duncan’s earth-toned buttoned-up tunic and buckled belt, authentic to the 11th century context, contrasted with Lady Macbeth’s contemporary black lace bra, bike shorts, stockings, and knee pads.
IMPACT ON AUDIENCE
The decision to apply the conventions of costumes authentic to context (Realism), clearly juxtaposed 11th-century Scotland and the modern-day, enhancing for the audience the metatheatrical nature of the play. The interrelationship between the director and costume designer effectively conveyed to the audience Lutton’s intention for the ‘contemporary parts of the story’ to have the ‘biggest disruption’', emphasizing that the sexual politics evident in Shakespeare's Macbeth, particularly regarding how power is shared between men and women, is as relevant in 2024 as it was in the 11th century.
CARLIN
Natasha Herbert in the role of Carlin used conventions such as breaking the fourth wall and direct address to create an interactive actor-audience relationship during the opening of Act One. The use of a 'Knock, knock' joke immediately established a sense of curiosity and humour amongst the audience, however this quickly morphed into a mildly hostile actor-audience relationship as Carlin began to accuse the audience of being 'misery seekers' with 'eyes all nasty and randy for gore'. Herbert's use of voice included a sarcastic and mocking tone to belittle the audience, and her use of facial expressions, such as a slight smirk and raised eyebrows, established Carlin as having high status in this moment. Even when the play 'began' with the Bloody Soldier's speech, Carlin continued to direct her focus to the audience as she crouched, smoking a pipe. This relationship between the audience and Carlin was maintained when Act 2 commenced with Carlin telling the audience to, 'Go on - stuff yourselves'.
LADY MACDUFF
Jessica Clarke, in the role of Lady MacDuff, used acting skills such as voice, gesture, and facial expressions to establish an empathetic actor-audience relationship. This was established in Act One Scene Four when Lady MacDuff made her first appearance. Clarke used facial expressions such as a broad smile, open body languge, and the repeated gesture of holding and rubbing her pregnant stomach to emphasise Lady Macduff's human and maternal characteristics. Lady MacDuff's friendly and jovial traits were conveyed through Clarke's use of vocal gestures, such as laughing and mimicking the birds, as she joked with King Duncan. This immediately endeared the audience to Lady Macbeth, which enhanced the tragedy of her death in Act Two when Clarke juxtaposed her previous unrestrained movement and applied stillness to convey Lady MacDuff's complete loss of power and life.
VERBAL/NON VERBAL LANGUAGE, ACTING SPACE, and FOCUS
VERBAL and NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE
How was verbal and non-verbal language used to convey an intended meaning of the script in one specific moment?
Specific Moment: Act 2 Scene 9 Lady Macbeth restrained in chair
Intended Meaning: highlighting themes of power and control over women resonating with contemporary audiences// 'glass-ceiling feminist push versus the patriarchal machine that keeps pushing (us) back from progress.
Verbal Language: References to women being dogs/'bitches'
Ross: "Throw physic to the dogs then. I’ll none of it"
Doctor: "See she snarls"
Lady Macbeth: "We didn't rehearse this. Get off me"
Non-Verbal Language: modern-day black bike shorts, stockings, boots, lace push-up bra, knee pads, and mic pack, blood stain on dress (womanhood), rope, gag, movement- struggling, being restrained
The use of verbal and non-verbal language emphasised the playscript's intended meaning of sexual politics by highlighting men's power and control over women and the 'glass-ceiling feminist push versus the patriarchal machine that keeps pushing (us) back from progress'.For example, in Act 2, Scene 9, the Doctor and Ross used verbal language such as 'dog' and 'snarl' referencing modern day sexist references to powerful women being 'bitches'. Non-verbal language was then used when Lady Macbeth applied movement to writhe and struggle as she was bound to a chair and gagged in her underwear. Prior to being restrained, the non-verbal language of repeated blood stains on Lady Macbeth's dress also symbolically highlighted the shame and fear women have endured around menstruation, often associated with 'womanhood' and a transition into adulthood. This use of verbal and non-verbal language was confrontational and highly effective in conveying the intended meaning that the sexual politics evident in Shakespeare's Macbeth is still alarmingly relevant in today's society, as evidenced from the wolf-whistling during this scene from some audience members.
ACTING SPACE
Macbeth (An Undoing) was performed in a black box theatre space. A black box theatre is typically a square room with black walls, a flat floor and no procenium arch. This makes the space incredibly versatile and allowed for the construction of the rotating brutalist inspired castle
Identify a moment and describe how the director focused the audience’s attention to a particular aspect during the production.
Director Matthew Lutton was interested in creating a sense of the 11th century being 'dangerous' and ''a world where nature can kill you.. if you are left out in the snow'. Lutton drew the audience's focus to this idea by using the theatre technology of a snow machine. The use of snow in the live performance drew the audience's focus to the context and the dangers associated with that.. Snow can symbolise death (among aother things), therefore the recurring motif of snow falling manipulated the audience's focus on this as an ominous portent of things to come.
Other things to consider:
How lighting was used to create focus
How blocking was used to focus the audience's attention
ELEMENTS OF THEATRE COMPOSITION
Emphasis
In this scene we can see emphasis being used by both actors to draw the audience's attention towards Lady Macbeth and Macduff, in the form of status, facial expressions and body language, especially in Macduff's angry face and his aggressive body movements. This then shows the audience to focus on how Lady Macbeth's Anti-Heroism, is coming to and end and that she is about to die.
~ Matt
Motion
In the scene where Lady Macbeth starts seeing stuff that other can’t see. The actress use motion of slam the table to convey she want to be respected and wants the people to not keep misgendering her because she want to be called as a “Queen” and not a “King”. She thinks that she earn the role and she have the rights to order other people to call her in the way she wants.
~ Chloe
Contrast
In this scene we can see contrast being used by separating the actors and having those in modern undergarments on the right, while to the left we can see that they are in time period appropriate outfits. This is to highlight the drift Lady Macbeth is having, and how the show seems to be falling apart in its attempt to reconnect with the original play and pull her back with it.
The divide gives us a clear disconnect between the original play and this new fragment of Lady Macbeth’s story, showing us the steady tug of the storyline slowly but surely bringing her back.
~ Pailin
Variation
The use of variation within Macbeth (an undoing), was conveyed through continuous change and different dynamics of the space. This was demonstrated through the production role Set design, and the use of various different aspects of different levels within the set itself from shifting widths and heights of the flooring and walls. This shift in space incorporated by the characters movements within the space created a continuous change within the whole space that created an effect of visual disorientation for the audience throughout the performance. That reflects the change and shift in each characters power and status within the storyline, specifically with the Macbeth’s, and following the main character Lady Macbeth and her lack of control and power is visually reflected through the various levels of height within each room of each scene, reflects lack of control in Lady Macbeth’s low power and high power moments
~ Anouk
Rhythm
The language spoken by the bloody soldier in the final scene (when he recites Puck's, "If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended") uses the rhythm of trochaic tetrameter. This rhythm is used to mark the character as being something outside normal life, and is interestingly the rhythm that the Witches in Macbeth often speak in. As both characters are dead in this moment, the use of trochaic tetrameter enhances this supernatural moment.
Cohesion
Cohesion refers to the unity and balance of various aspects of the interpretation. Cohesion was applied through the unity and balance between sound and set design to enhance the meta-theatrical conventions of Macbeth (An Undoing). For example, as well as the inclusion of a non-diegetic atmospheric soundscape created by Jethro Woodward, there was also the diegetic sounds of the low rumble of the mechanical turning of the revolve. This was an aural reference to the
metatheatricality of the play and a reminder to the audience that they are not passive observers but complicit in the story being played out.
How were ELEMENTS OF THEATRE COMPOSITION used to convey an INTENDED MEANING?
Emphasis and contrast were innovatively and creatively applied by director Lutton, actress, Novakovic, and costume designer Barber to powerfully convey the intended meaning that sexual politics, specifically how power is shared between men and women, is as relevant today as it was in the 11th century. This was made particularly clear in Act 2 Scene 11 when the feminist theatre and metatheatrical elements of Harris’ script were emphasised, highlighting the power imbalance that continues to exist between genders.
In this moment, the director, Lutton, blocked Lady Macbeth beyond downstage, breaking the fourth wall by positioning the character in the auditorium. The director’s decision to position Lady Macbeth in the auditorium cleverly drew the audience’s focus to Lady Macbeth, pulling them out of the 11th century context created onstage and embedding them in the metatheatrical convention of a play within a play. This directorial decision was cohesive with Lady Macbeth losing control of her narrative, further emphasising Lutton’s intention to convey the 'glass-ceiling feminist push versus the patriarchal machine that keeps pushing (women) back from progress’. Novakovic’s acting skills contrasted to those applied in previous scenes, the actress directly addressing the audience using the vernacular and shouting in a frustrated tone at the teenage audience, “Were you told to be respectful? Were you told to be respectful?” and “I wish they’d laugh more”, as the line between actor and character became blurred. Her movement and gestures applied conventions of realism, as the actress ran up the stairs, throwing her hands in the air in a gesture of resignation, before lying back in the auditorium aisles, refusing to be part of the gendered narrative that was playing out on stage. This use of voice and body language was juxtaposed to the upright posture, contained movements, and controlled vocal dynamics when Novakovic was ‘acting’ as Lady Macbeth. To further highlight this juxtaposition, Barber’s costume designs for Lady Macbeth consisted of contrasting modern-day black bike shorts, stockings, boots, lace push-up bra, knee pads, and mic pack, with an 11th century garment of a full-length shimmering light blue skirt with a corseted bodice. The former mentioned costume emphasised representations of the female body for the male gaze, reinforcing the sexual politics of the playscript. This intended meaning was powerfully made prominent by the directorial choice to have Lady Macbeth bound to a chair and gagged in her underwear, surrounded by the male characters in Act 2 Scene 9, a decision which elicited revealing wolf-whistles from some male members in the audience, further highlighting the importance of continuing to examine the power dynamics within society.
F U N C T I O N
A N D
P U R P O S E
FUNCTION: What is their role in the play? E.g., protagonist, narrator, antagonist, ensemble
PURPOSE: Why are they in the play? E.g.: to educate, entertain, to challenge, to evoke pity
The Protagonist is the main character, the star of the show, whose purpose is to drive the action in the narrative. For example, in Macbeth (An Undoing), the function of the character Lady Macbeth is to be the protagonist. The purpose of this character is to disrupt the traditional narrative of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and to tell 'untold stories'.
The Narrator of a piece of theatre is a performer who speaks directly to the audience to tell them part of the story, to give additional information, or to comment on the scene or the behaviour of characters. In Macbeth (An Undoing), Carlin functioned (at times) as a narrator. Her purpose was to highlight the metatheatrical conventions of this feminist retelling, provide commentary, and make the audience question their complicity in the types of stories that are told.
Prompt Pack B SPREADS.pdfEducational Resource
Page updated
Report abuse