For the Gentle woman I would have her also talking quietly but to show her sincerity towards her accent would possibly be of a lower class Scottish person of the time as I wish to show the difference in class between the Doctor and The Gentle woman to further the effect of frustration the doctor has with the gentle woman. Towards the Doctor I would have her with her eyes opened wide and with her mouth slightly turned down to extend this feeling of her telling the truth also I would have her escalating her whispered tone to a normal one addressing the Doctor with an angry tone of voice.
When Lady Macbeth enters I would have her at the top of a staircase lit from behind to give a silhouette to create and eerie atmosphere I would also have her in a plain white gown to give her a ghostly appearance and it may even give the association that now that she is wearing plain clothes that she is associated with the witches as she did call upon the forces of darkness also the fact the witches can stop sleep and she now cannot properly. I would also have her wearing wooden sandals as the floors of the castle would have been very cold. Her sleeves would be high cut to show her hands and make it easier for the audience to make the association of blood, instead of this I would use drawstrings on the sleeves to the same effect .She would be carrying an artificial candle as a real one could be a fire hazard .As she began to walk down the stairs I would have her moving very slowly I would even have her walking in rhythm of a piece of music to expand on the idea of her appearing like a ghost which could be used also to show she is a mere ghost of her former self. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs I would have he crouch down to wash her hands which will give her an opportunity to put down the candle. Once the line out dammed spot I would have a red gel be put on in front of the fresend spotlight to show the blood Lady Macbeth believes she is covered in. When she speaks her first block of lines I would have her star in a whisper like tone and gradually escalate into almost fully-fledged screaming to show how guilt ridden she is and how it has consumed her.
As lady Macbeth enters the main part of the stage I will would have her completely oblivious towards the doctor that she is asleep. Rapidly and forcefully I would have her rubbing her hands throughout to show the blood imagery and continue on the ideas of her madness and hallucination. For Lady Macbeth second set of lines “The thane of Fife had a wife…”should be chanted in an almost childlike way which shows the innocence and venerability lady Macbeth now has.
This could be also used to reflect the madness she now suffers from.
I would now make the Doctor in contrast of before talk in a hushed but now scared way and even make him stutter to show the audience that if he is scared to hear something he shouldn’t, to improve this further I would make him raise his eyebrow and open his mouth in almost a form of terror. When lady Macbeth is not saying her lines I would remove the red gel from the light to suggest further to the audience that it is a hallucination that Lady Macbeth is seeing and she is not actually in blood which is a contrast to her former self “Look how a little water washes away this deed.”
When lady Macbeth says the line All the perfumes of Arabia would not cleanse this little hand,” I would then direct the actress to become obsessed with the smell rather than blood being on her hands to create this affect I would stop her from rubbing her hands and make her smell her hands while the other characters are talking also I would have her hold her nose or cover it with a tissue to make it more apparent to the audience.
For the gentle woman when the Doctor asks should he report this I would have her angered expression by looking down her nose at the doctor and lowering her eyebrows also I would make her stand with her back to the doctor and talk in a sharp manner to outline her professionalism and not betray her employer.
When lady Macbeth says to bed I would have her with a terrified look on her face to show the state of mental anguish she is in .I would also have her physically grabbing the doctor round the arm and to try and pull him, as if she thought h was Macbeth. I would have the doctor looking frightened by making him raise his eyebrows and gasp in shock I would do this to continue the idea that he is terrified what she may do if she finds out what they have done as not only she in a position of power ( Queen of Scotland) but also her husband is regarded as being a ruthless king and one that has done terrible things .
