The first scene was set on a heath in the middle of no where which was smart of the director because it really had an impact on the viewer because of the darkness and almost mysterious place it was set. This setting alerts the viewer to the point that they are getting goose bumps and it is obvious that the director has deliberately chosen this setting to enhance the quality of the play. But this isn’t the major factor, which affected the play; it was the impact of the weather. The weather in the introduction was misty and also dirty. The meeting of the three witches in “thunder, lightening and in rain!” conveyed a sense of what the play was about and set it off for the rest of the play.
In considering these several factors, the director has shown the introduction to have the essence of uncertainty. The viewer is unsure of what lies in store. When the video starts off with the witches and the gloomy scenes I felt a surge of fear to see the three witches arise from the heath, and then the camera slowly zoomed in to where the witches were lying. The camera slowly moved around the witches while they were sitting on a “Dolman” (a symbol for the supernatural). I had noticed that there were three witches, which symbolised the supernatural (the number 3 was associated with witchcraft). The way they stood in a triangle also symbolised a unity against normality.
In the BBCs version the witches were from head to toe in rags. Their hair was looked like it had never been washed, their hands are filthy and im sure there was fungi growing between their nails. I don’t think there is anything “nice” about these witches. However the appearance of the witches is extremely important to show to the viewer how evil they are. Their voices are low deep and husky. It isn’t hard to imagine these three witches standing over a cauldron reciting off spells.
“When the hurly-burlys done. When the battles lost, and won”. You can now start to see that evil unfolding and is to be the main theme of the play.
In act one scene three, the scene is set in the exact same place as scene one because of the identical surroundings. The witches crouch down on the filth upon the heath and the camera zooms in on witch one. Witch one seems to be the leader of the pack, mainly because she does most of the talking and is at the head of the triangular formation. She is a weird and interesting type of creature so to speak, and she enforces her point by holding up a “pilots thumb”.
Macbeth and Banquo enter the play with a drumbeat. One of the witches hears it and automatically knows its Macbeth.the witches form a triangle into which Maspeth and Banquet enter. They are both startled by these strange creatures and demand them to talk “speak if you can. What are you”? They were even more surprised when the witches talked about prophecies of leadership ands power, they said “all hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter”. While all of this was going on, Macbeth seemed shocked. However, Banquo took in all the prophecies, as a fair judge meant of what was to come. But the most important thing about all of this was the witches timing. Macbeth had just come from a bloody war making him susceptible to prophetic greeting. The witches were harbouring eviler ambitions that were already there and Macbeth was stupid enough to listen.
The second version by Anne Ross Muir showed the modern day viewer how this play can be directed, by setting it in a different place. Anne Ross Muir had a difficult job of directing this play; she had to stick to most of the original text, yet she had to attract a modern day audience. The modern day audience she was looking to attract was an audience that lived witches to be associated with Halloween and not an audience that believed in witchcraft. Obviously Anne Ross Muir couldn’t stick to all the text, as there were several references to the king and other references that just wouldn’t fit in a modern day version.
In this version the witches meet in a modern urban wasteland in an underground car park. Like the previous version it was not a place to go to, it wasn’t inviting and certainly wasn’t cosy. Although it isn’t as good as the previous version you still can see that this is a place where witches would meet. In this particular version the witches are more acceptable in modern day society. They are totally different from the other version as they are not old, withered hags. Instead they are young witches; they could be likened to “gypsies”. They were a lot of jewellery, have huge false nails, shapes of the moon, stars, sun etc painted onto their faces (these symbols in the supernatural world). In my opinion, they don’t scare me; they just convey a sense of mischief and is more informative compared to the BCCs version. There is only one factor that makes the witches seem different as they seem to have supernatural powers e.g. act one scene three. As soon as Macbeth and Banquo appear the witches circle them and they are wearing masks. To circle them they use roller skates, which enhances the way it alarms both Macbeth and the and the viewer, it also creates confusion and awakes an element of uncertainty.
In conclusion, in comparing these two productions I first of all thought that the Anne Ross Muir production was weak and doesn’t force a dramatic start. I also think its important to not touch or change anything about the way Shakespeare wrote this play. I think it would be a great insult to Shakespeare if he were alive. And therefore I think Shakespeare would be happier with the BBCs production because it stays with the original text an original setting. I would like to say the three witches were crucial and therefore without them it wouldn’t be a good play. This is because the witches make the play more memorable