If you were asked to direct Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth by Shakespeare, how would you direct it?

Aisha Qureshi 11QWr

If you were asked to direct Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth by Shakespeare, how would I direct it?

If I were to direct the Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth, I would consider these points, because all these points would determine how the effective this scene would be: -

Text
Stage
Lighting
Costumes
Positions on stage

Text

The text is very important to this scene because it determines what mood the character is in. I will take line by line and talk how it should be said and what is being said. In lines 1 and 2 Lady Macbeth would higher her voice as she speaks, because she is talking about how bold and strong she is, that what made them unconscious made her more awake.

‘That which hath made them drunk, hath made me bold

What hath quenched them, hath given me fire’

When the owl shrieks she will immediately say the next two words, so from being a bold person she has suddenly become this very scared and when she finds out that it is only an owl this sign of relief comes over her face and she starts to talk normally. The owl’s shriek is very important to the scene because as Lady Macbeth is getting higher in volume as she is speaking, she reaches a loud peak and then a very loud shriek is heard that has made the scene dead for a few seconds. So to the audience the scene is building up excitement but then suddenly by a sudden noise every thing is quite. (E.g. when in a move there is soft music playing in the back round, but then something dramatic happens and the back round music gets louder) After this Lady Macbeth links the owl to the killing of Duncan, because she calls the owl the ‘fatal bellman’ (watchman who rang the bell before execution and burials, like a fatal bellman for the killing of Duncan), telling the audience what this scene is about. From line 4 to 6 Lady Macbeth would be taking crude manna because she is talking about the how the servants have abandoned their duties because they are drugged by the hot drinks from Lady Macbeth. Line 7 tells us what she thinks of the servants

‘That death and nature do contend about them,

Whether they live, or die’

She doesn’t even care if Duncan’s servants live or die because they’re nothing to her because they are poor and more of them can be bought.

After this Macbeth enters with the two dagger which were used to kill Duncan and he says

‘Who’s there? What ho?’

He would say this very quickly and he would he would be trembling because of what he has just done, he doesn’t know if it was the right or wrong thing to do. He would also ...

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‘That death and nature do contend about them,

Whether they live, or die’

She doesn’t even care if Duncan’s servants live or die because they’re nothing to her because they are poor and more of them can be bought.

After this Macbeth enters with the two dagger which were used to kill Duncan and he says

‘Who’s there? What ho?’

He would say this very quickly and he would he would be trembling because of what he has just done, he doesn’t know if it was the right or wrong thing to do. He would also have a light stammer. Then Lady Macbeth speaks line 9 to 13 quietly, because she thinks the servants have awaken and doubts her husband actually doing the job properly (what he dose by making a total mockery of it by making a big mess) and how she could of done the murder if only Duncan didn’t look like her father. Then from line 15 to 22 they ask each other questions about if any body woke up or if anybody heard a sound.

But then Macbeth says something that shows that he thinks he has made a mistake, in a quite manner

‘This is a sorry sight’

But then Lady Macbeth says, in strong, thought voice

‘A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight’

She wants Macbeth to stay strong and not be effected by the murder, because if he doesn’t he will give the game away and both of them would be prosecuted.

Then from lines 25 to 46 they should be whispering. Macbeth is shook up by this, that he has murdered sleep and won’t be able to go to sleep again and that he can not say amen, but Lady Macbeth is telling him not to think about it because it will make them both mad if they keep repeating the scene in their head. Then from line 47 to 53 Lady Macbeth is telling him to finish the job properly by smearing the grooms with Duncan’s blood and leaving the daggers with them. But Macbeth is to scared to do anything more

‘I’ll go no more.

I am afraid to think what I have done;

Look on’t again, I dare not.’

Then from lines 55 to 59 Lady Macbeth says fine I will do it but there is nothing to fear and she also says that she will try to make the grooms guilty. Then from lines 60 to 77 Lady Macbeth tells him to pull him self-back together and she comes up with an alibi that no one will suspect it is they.

Stage

I want the stage to be totally bare so all the attention is on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Lighting

I only want two spotlights and they should be on the two characters separately and the two spotlights only join when the daggers are exchanged.

Costumes

I want both of them to wear black like the ‘Grim Reaper’, representing bad people.

Positions on stage

In the beginning I want Lady Macbeth pacing up and down the stage and when Macbeth comes he will come from the left side (not from the right side because he has done a bad deed. So Lady Macbeth would stand on the right side and Macbeth on the left side but they would only enter and go from the left side.