MacBeth At The Mill, Thurso 30 August - 2 September

16th August 2006

A Busy Time at the Mill
In 1604 William Shakespeare in his zeal to please King James I, an authority on demonology, cast caution and imagination aside and for the opening scene of Macbeth's Act IV he reproduced a 17th century black-magic ritual, a sort of how-to to budding witches. Without changing an ingredient, Shakespeare provided his audience with step-by-step instructions in the furtive art of spell casting:

"Round around the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venum sleeping got.
Boil thou first I' the charmed pot"

The ritual's practitioners were not amused by this detailed public exposure of their witchcraft, and it is said that as punishment they cast an everlasting spell on the play, turning it into the most ill-starred of all theatrical productions.

Thus we come to Thurso Players' latest production. One of Shakespeare's tragedies, a theatrical superstition, a period soap opera and murder story; "Just how do you think about Macbeth?" asks the play's director, John Glen.

Watching the announcement of the recent knife amnesty, he realised that the events of today are not all that different to those of Shakespeare's fiction. There are factions internationally waging war on each other and legislation such as ASBO's in place to help control those in society who choose to make life uncomfortable for others. Our society is so far removed socially and technologically from the original setting of Macbeth that one must ask, "Are all the themes of the play relevant? Would Macbeth see apparitions today? rhaps if he were suffering from some psychological condition or were he in a drugged haze he may. Is there still ambition driven manipulative spouses? (His wife said he didn't need to know). So what do you do with a classic piece of literature like Macbeth? Another costumed romp in the early mediaeval period had little appeal. Instead Glen considered a couple of modern settings and decided that some gang culture and some inner city tower blocks and housing schemes, like those in the Glasgow of his childhood, had all of the relevant problems as part of their everyday existence today.

Shakespeare's language needed no re-working although some poetic license was taken and the length of the play was cut. Costume and set needed to be modern but neutral not detracting from the action and characters, while mirroring the impersonal grey faceless housing estates of the sixties and seventies. The entire production did however need to be explainable to the cast in terms of modern characters. For example the three witches become three bitches, manipulative and drug dependant. Their sordid occupation feeds their habit, and their 'Madam'; Hecate deals in whatever they need. To learn more, go along to Thurso's Mill Theatre and enter the slightly surreal world of a socially deprived 'sink' area, where the gangs live out one of our oldest and best known pieces of drama.

Macbeth runs from Wednesday 30th August to Saturday 2nd September starting at 8.00pm each evening. Tickets are £7.00 & £5.00 (Concessions) and bookings can be made by calling 01847-896956.

Following on from Macbeth, Thurso Players go on to their next production which will be the Pantomime 'Sleeping Beauty' directed by Andrew Crawford which runs from 13th to 16th December. Auditions will be held in the Mill Theatre at 2.30pm on Sunday 3rd September.

Thurso Players are always on the lookout for new members who may have hidden talents such as singing, dancing and most importantly, acting. The auditions are open to all members of the public but participants in the final production must be members of the club (to comply with insurance requirements) and are expected to complete the Disclosure process before taking active part. If you don't fancy the idea of 'tripping the boards' there is always a need for people to help out backstage with set construction and painting etc. Following on, John Firth will be running a lighting workshop for interested parties beginning at 7.30pm on Tuesday 12th September.
For further information on any of the above, contact Neil on 01847-896956.