Setting - This play takes place on a stage. The play is set in the 1600's in the Scottish highlands. The stage is bare apart from a bench, a bucket, and a well; there is a backdrop of a castle at the rear of the stage.

Section C the stage directions, lighting and sound effects

Setting

This play takes place on a stage. The play is set in the 1600’s in the Scottish highlands. The stage is bare apart from a bench, a bucket, and a well; there is a backdrop of a castle at the rear of the stage.

The nature of this scene is one of evil, and to show this I will have the stage dark and shadowy the whole way through the scene with smoke gently billowing from beneath the stage to show the witches presence.

A soft blue light falls onto the stage with a white spotlight on Lady Macbeth, the light turns green including the spotlight on Lady Macbeth as she starts to make her speech(this is to show that she looks pure and good but when she speaks she reveals her evil). Then after she says “what hath quenched them hath given me fire”(speaks slowly and cunningly) an owl shrieks a sharp shrill cry(which echoes all round the theatre with the surround sound)” twas the owl that shreaked the fatal bellman”she speaks these lines with excited anticipation in her voice. and the lights turn suddenly red (this signifies Duncan’s death – I do not show the murder on stage as the audience may lose sympathy for Macbeth) and then back to green.(I wish the audience to keep sympathy with Macbeth because I am trying to show Macbeth to be a victim in all of this, a victim to the witches and his wife who preyed upon his desires. As a victim I want the audience to feel sorry for him, if the murder is too brutal the audience may lose sympathy.)

Lady Macbeth sits on a bench at the rear of the stage surrounded with mist. (This mist represents the witches presence as I believe they have an evil control over Lady Macbeth) Lady Macbeth starts to say her speech in an evil, cold, powerful, cackle of a voice. Here she will be talking into the mist rather than herself almost as it has a grip on her. (she speaks into the smoke to show not only have the witches influenced macbeth but lady macbeth also she to is ambitious and was also taken in by the prophecies. The smoke shows ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

After the owl’s cry an organ plays in the background from the words HARK! – PEACE! To the end of Lady Macbeth speech then it fades away (an organ plays at funerals and this this signifies a death has occurred).

“Who’s there? – What ho!” Lady Macbeth speaks her line in a nervy voice.

There is dead silence as Macbeth enters, he backs very slowly onto the stage almost in a trance ” he turns to face Lady Macbeth he looks deeply at her for a moment then “I have done the deed” - saying this like he is in complete shock and in realisation, he is telling himself what he has done as much as he is telling Lady Macbeth.

(I believe when Macbeth killed Duncan the witches had a grip on him Almost like it wasn’t him that committed the murder, and now he is telling himself what he has done.)

Macbeth: “did thou not hear a noise?”

Lady Macbeth: “the owls scream and the crickets cry” (at this time these things represented death)

Lady Macbeth: did thou not speak?

Macbeth: when?

Lady Macbeth: now

Macbeth: As I descended

Lady Macbeth: Ay

Macbeth: Hark! Who lies I’ the second chamber

Lady Macbeth: Donalbain

( There is no noise everything is silent except the voices of the actors, Macbeth speaks his lines quickly and panicky with nerves and tension he wears a worried frown, Lady Macbeth speaks with an excited nervousness)

Macbeth: this is a sorry sight (angry, shouting, remorseful as he sees the blood he goes hysterical he realises in full for the first time what he has done and is truly sorry he regrets it deeply)

Lady Macbeth: (calm, she speaks slowly her face wears an angry expression toward Macbeth, her voice slightly mocking) a foolish thought to say a sorry sight (here she regains her hard exterior and takes complete control of the situation)

Macbeth is now slumped on the floor(he is distraught) he says his lines from “There’s one did laugh in his sleep …….to chief nourisher in life’s feast” in a husky, frightened and almost desperate voice” In these lines macbeth talks about sleep, only innocence is allowed to sleep “macbeth will sleep no more” for he is evil. Macbeth also talks about how he cant say Amen this is because he is no longer holy, good sleep denotes a clear conscience Macbeth’s is not clear.)

During these lines Lady Macbeth is being her hard self “consider it not so deeply” – she says standing over him (this shows her power over him) she says in an impatient and almost dismissive voice.

Macbeth: (now in a whisper) “still it cried……Macbeth shall sleep no more”(Macbeth screams these lines to the audience)

Lady Macbeth: (mockingly) “who was it that thus cried?……and smear the sleepy grooms with blood”(lady Macbeth is angry with him, she sneers at him)

Lady Macbeth: (takes the daggers for macbeth “dare not” look upon what he has done) “if Duncan do bleed then I shall place the daggers in the arms of the guards for it will seem their guilt” – she says this in an evil yet excited whisper. In these lines we see again, unfazed she takes control of the situation.

And exits the stage quickly. Her evil and cunning nature has now been fully revealed to the audience.

(A loud knocking is heard, the knocking comes from speakers all around the theatre, so the audience is surrounded)

Macbeth: (in complete hysteria) “Whence is that knocking…..making the green one red”

In these lines red strings tied onto his fingers represent the blood. He walks over to the well and tries to clean his hands of the blood as he does this a watery red light appears covers the stage the more he washes his hands the redder the light becomes.(ominously, it shows the more he tries to cover up the deed the worse it gets) Here Macbeth tries to proverbially wash his hands of the deed but “all Neptune’s great oceans could not wash these hands clean” he was trying to cleanse himself of the crime. By removing the visual reminder (the blood).

Lady macbeth re-enters with her hands out in front of her, her hands and clothing are soaked with blood (red string) she walks over to macbeth and shows him her hands, he turns away. She starts to speak in an evil, cold, angry voice, “My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white”

In these lines we see the appearance/reality theme. (their hands are both red but his heart is white – symbolises purity, showing Macbeth’s natural instincts are good).

(The knocking starts again, the knocking is slow and very loud it sounds like a heart beating, I do this because these are Duncans men knocking. This is like the beating of duncans heart even though he is dead he lives on. Saying Macbeth will have to do more than kill him to get rid of him completely)

Lady Macbeth: (spins around in sudden panic) “I hear knocking…….No more knocking”

In these lines she once again mocks her husband “Your consistency hath left you unattended” she then dismisses the murder of Duncan “a little water clears us of this deed”

Then Lady Macbeth regains her composure shown by the calmness and confident authority in her voice “get on your night gown…….be not lost so poorly in your thought.”

Macbeth now in complete hysteria tears streaming down his face (he cries) “wake Duncan with your knocking, I would thou couldst!” At this point Macbeth weakness is obvious and at this point I feel he would be ready to throw in the towel.

Lady Macbeth exits, walking off confidently in a white spotlight, because she appears good and innocent. Macbeth crawls off, remorseful guilty and hysterical whereas Lady Macbeth is calm and confident and unfazed, Demonstrating her control.

The lights go out and the theatre is left in darkness.