I would advise you to use older women to play the role of the witches because they look more the part being bent and arched over. Their faces should look old and you should have them covered in old tattered cloth rags hanging over their heads and over their backs. Their voices need to be cacklily and high pitched. The way they say the words needs to sound inhuman as though they are set apart from the rest of mankind. When the witches answer to the calls of their familiars the lines are: “I come, Graymalkin”, “Paddock calls” and “Anon”. All three of these replies would be better said as though the witches’ minds are already with their familiars.
The witches say to Macbeth when he first meets them “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis”, “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” and “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter”. This will drive a big impact into the audience because they already know that Macbeth has been given the title of Thane of Cawdor; “… And with his former title greet Macbeth”. I would like Macbeth to look very shocked, scared and frightened of the news because his deepest, darkest desire is to become King. Also he knows that his cousin, King Duncan, and his two son’s would have to be dead for this honour to befall him. Macbeth will know that witches are very evil so he will be wary of what they say. I would also like the contrast between the view of Macbeth given by the Captain in the last scene, telling Duncan how brave and heroic Macbeth is, “so they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe” and is fear shown when told the news about him becoming King, to be made very obvious.
After Macbeth is told the news about him becoming King, Banquo’s next line is “Good Sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?”. In my opinion he should say this line with complete bafflement and sarcasm because he cannot understand why Macbeth is not even the slightest bit excited. When the witches tell Banquo “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater”, “Not so happy, yet much happier” and “Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none, so all hail Macbeth and Banquo”. I would suggest you make Banquo’s expression first shock, then move it into surprise and excitement. Well, wouldn’t you be happy at the news of your son’s becoming Kings.
The themes of the play are quite obvious. Firstly, there is good and evil represented by light and dark and witches and noble people. Also there is a theme of things not seeming to be what they are meant to be. You can see this when the witches say “foul is fair and fair is foul”. Also Macbeth says that “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” which gives the illusion that Macbeth is not all he seems to be either.
I would like it if Macbeth could be played by a strong, dominant man who can run the stage and be very overpowering. This is because the Captain in Act 1 Scene 2 describes how brave Macbeth was during the battle; he says “for brave Macbeth” and “with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution”. So I believe, Macbeth’s actor needs to get this across until the witches tell him that he will become King. I want him to look scared because of these reasons: firstly the main reason is that Macbeth’s deepest, darkest desire is to become King and now he’s been told he will become King - he must feel a little terrified; secondly he must know that to become King, his cousin Duncan and both his sons must be dead; thirdly he knows witches are evil so there will be an element of evil involved in him becoming King.
Macbeth’s asides when he speaks them need to be as he is thinking; like a dreamy monologue talking to the audience. He is talking to them but its got to sound as though he is thinking it; sort of dreaming. Also when he decides to kill the King in Act 1 Scene 4 when he say’s “let not light see my black and deep desires the eye wink at the hand”. He knows he is going to kill the King; it is the only way he will become King so while he says this he needs to change his voice to become a bit more angry but sad and horrified at what he’s going to do.
I would like the audience to be confused about whether Macbeth is good, evil or a bit of both; the way he deceives the King sets up the fact that they don’t know what Macbeth will do.
These next lines, I believe, should be delivered just as I will now describe:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”. This needs to be said by all three witches because it sets the whole of the play to be deceiving and not being what things seem to be. It is very important.
Also Macbeth’s first line needs to be very prominent because his line is “so foul and fair a day I have not seen”. This needs to be said in a sad manner because of two reasons - he has won the battle which is the fair but many lives were lost (this is the foul part) - the second reason is that this is repeating what the witches have said “foul is fair and fair is foul”. This is the theme of anything not seeming to be what it seems to be, which needs to be very prominent in the play. Macbeth’s first line “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” is the most important line in the whole story because it sets the image of Macbeth not being what he seems to be; this tells the audience that the play is going to have a lot of twists and turns.
When the witches tell Macbeth “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis”, “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” and “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter”, the witches need to say this with evil in their voices because of the irony with the first Thane of Cawdor becoming a traitor. They know, so will Macbeth. Again, I must stress how important it is that Macbeth must look scared or even slightly terrified at the news of him becoming King. If you are in any doubt about this, please reread the reasons I set out earlier in this letter on page two, again. This is a very important reaction to the witches’ line.
Scenes 1 to 4 prepare the audience for a lot of deceiving murder and treachery and they know that Macbeth will be attempting to kill the King and Banquo will be the father of Kings to come. Or will he?
I hope by this time the audience should be excited, on the edge of their seats, anticipating the end of the play, wanting to know what happened to Macbeth and the rest of the characters.
I also hope that you will take all of these valuable points into consideration and that your production of my superb play, Macbeth, goes tremendously well. I hope to hear about rehearsals, performances and every other detail. I may even come to watch.
Yours faithfully
William Shakespeare
By ANDREW HURST
By Andrew Hurst
