The opening scene of any play or production is very important. The first scene sets the mood for the whole play. If the audience are not kept captivated and intrigued in this short but important scene they may lose interest and so the rest of the play is irrelevant. So to engage the reader the opening scene must be powerful and attention grabbing. This is exactly what Shakespeare has done. His opening scene takes place on a ‘blasted heath’ disserted but for the presence of the witches. It is the fact that the heath is featureless that it focuses our attentions on the witches.
There have been many productions of Macbeth both stage and film but I am only going to concentrate on two, Polanskis film production and the stage production by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will start by discussing the opening scene of Polanskis film production.
Polanski’s first scene opens with a long shot of a beach with a thin sheet of water on the sand and the sun just rising in the distance. We hear a lone seagull calling in the distance and a creaking sound which reveals it self to be the wheels of a cart which one of the witches is pulling. We are then startled by a stick, which is stabbed into the sand in the foreground by the first witch. The three witches get down on their hands and knees and dig like wild animals eventually scraping out a circular hole. In this hole they put a severed hand and them they put a knife in the hand and finally they place a noose in the hole. The witches then cover the shallow hole with sand and pour what looks to be blood on the surface. The witches then spit three times together and walk off. After this a long shot of the witches walking into the distance is shown. This opening scene is very different to how Shakespeare intended the scene to be acted. I think this is Polanski’s style. He likes to make his own mark on the film. For example when Banquo was killed Shakespeare did not include this in his production but Polanski did. I think he did this to make his production a bit different and I think to make the film appeal to a wider audience.
I will now discuss the opening scene of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production. The scene opens with an overhead view of a circular state. All the characters then file in and take their seats around the outer edge of the circle. While this is happening an organ plays creating a church like atmosphere this is very different to Polanski’s soundtrack. Polanski plays a distorted string instrument accompanied by a regular piano note, which creates a very eerie effect. Next in the RSC production the camera pans around giving us a glimpse of all the characters. After we see all the characters the witches stand up and gather in a tight circle holding hands it the middle of the stage. The witches are illuminated by a dim light to represent the moon so it is nighttime as they begin their ritual. This setting is more in line with what Shakespeare intended Macbeth to be like and not just a director’s own interpretation like that of Polanski’s production. Next the camera cuts to Duncan who is frail and has to be helped to his feet by MacDuff. Duncan is dressed in white and begins to pray repeating the words ‘mea culpa’. The camera now returns to a closup on the youngest witch who appears to be drooling and the other witches force her to the ground. This is very different to Polanski’s witches who are much less vocal and do not shout and groan. We can definitely see in this scene that a conflict of good and evil is taking place were as there is no sign of this in Polanski’s version. The scene climaxes with a lighting bolt in which Duncan stops praying and the witches stand up. I think this is a lot more dramatic than the witches just walking into the distance in Polanski’s version. One thing that the two scenes do have in common is that the directors have looked at the description Banquo made of the witches in Act 1 Scene3 and have dressed them appropriately ‘so wither’d and so wild in their attire That look not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth And yet are on’t ---Live you, or are you aught That man may question? You seem to understand me, By each at once her choppy finger laying Upon her skinny lips; you should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so.
Both productions have been very clever in bringing their respective scenes to life. The RSC production relies totally on lighting costume and audio due to it being a stage production. I think the Royal Shakespeare Company’s witches come across very well. They look, act and sound more evil than Polanski’s. I think this is an area were Polanski could improve his production. Polanski is very good at setting the mood. I felt the RSC jumped too quickly into the main text of the scene. I liked the way Polanski took a shot of a red sky possibly to show the blood shed to come in the play and I liked the way the witches fade away into the fog of the beach.
Personally I prefer Polanski’s production. As soon as you see the opening shot you just want to see what happens next. The RSC rushed their opening scene and the addition of Duncan just confuses things for me.
By Richard Harpur
