Macbeth Trip

Myself and Ms Fletcher, along with 27 Year 11 pupils went to see a production of ‘Macbeth’ at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot. The production sought to present a modern take of Shakespeare’s original play. Whilst the dialogue was kept in traditional Shakespearean language, the addition of communication by text message, grisly and graphic murders and Lady Macbeth vaping, certainly challenged what our perceptions of what a Shakespeare play should look like and does look like.

The modern take on the play appealed to pupils and it helped them to better understand not only the context of the play, but also the characterisation, as presented on stage.

The ‘modern’ take also allowed pupils to see particular scenes from a range of perspectives not present in the original text (e.g. the idea of Macbeth in fact being ‘possessed’ by the witches and Macbeth brutally murdering Macduff’s wife by suffocating her).

Overall, it was an enjoyable trip and I am glad that pupils have given positive feedback on the production itself, even if it is not to the taste of Bard traditionalists!

Miss Tedford