The king of Scotland is dead, and one of his own generals is to blame. This is the setup of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the play the RPI Players performed over the past two weekends. I know what you’re thinking. It’s Shakespeare: it’s characterized as being dry, boring, and difficult to understand. However, Macbeth is filled with drama, treason, witchcraft, murder, and guilt.
Macbeth, (Chris Guyon ’10), is a general in the Scottish army. After returning from a victorious battle with his friend and fellow general, Banquo, played by Robert Burgess ’07, he encounters three witches (Briavel Schultz ’10, Jes Mascaro ’09, and Elizabeth Maus ’11), who prophesize that he will be named Thane of Cawdor and eventually become king of Scotland. Banquo is prophesized to father a line of kings, but not become king himself. After this mysterious meeting, King Duncan (professor Marc Destefano) does indeed name Macbeth a thane. This leads Macbeth to believe that the rest of the prophecy will hold true as well.
When Macbeth tells his wife this news, she has no doubt that Macbeth will become king. Lady Macbeth (Tina Blatsos ’07) plots to have Macbeth kill the king and have the blame put on two chamberlains. When the king is found dead, Macbeth kills the chamberlains out of apparent rage over their crime, and subsequently becomes king. Macduff (Mark Celeste ’10) and Donalbain (Matthew Connelly ’09), Duncan’s two sons, flee the country because they believe they may be in danger as well.
The play progresses as Macbeth becomes obsessed with his power, and decides that Banquo is a danger to his position, so he has him killed. Banquo then comes back as a ghost and haunts Macbeth. The apparition frightens Macbeth, so he goes to visit the three witches. On this visit, the witches tell him that he should fear Macduff, but that he is invincible “to all that are woman born.” Consequently, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and his wife and children killed. When Macduff hears of this news, he immediately returns to Scotland for revenge.
Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is consumed by guilt, and eventually kills herself. The same night, military forces led by Macduff and Malcolm—another one of Duncan’s sons, played by Taylor Faulstich ’09—raid Macbeth’s castle. Macbeth and Macduff encounter one another and fight; during the battle, Macduff reveals that he is not of woman-born, but that he was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb. Macbeth realizes he is doomed but continues fighting until Macduff kills and beheads him. The play ends as Malcolm assumes the role of king and promises happiness for Scotland once again.
Everything about the production of Macbeth was exceptional, from the set design and costumes to the acting. The acting took place on primarily three parts of the stage: the left, center front, and center back. The set on the left was changed quite frequently, and it could transform from a bedroom to the outside of the castle in seconds. Center stage was mostly occupied by two movable trees, with a sheet in the back and colored lights directed to project either the images of tree leaves or sky. The rear was mostly used by actors to show things that were going on in the background or in a different setting. Some of the acting also occurred in the aisles, particularly the scene that starred the crowd-favorite Porter (Bob Fishel ’07).
The acting of all those that starred in Macbeth was excellent. Guyon’s and Blatsos’ performances were particularly convincing.
Macbeth is not the play to see if you want a light comedy—although some parts were humorous—but rather, it is one that makes you think about human corruption, trust, and the dangers of ambition. The Players certainly did not disappoint with any aspect of the play. If you did not attend, you truly missed out on a spectacular production. The next show will be An Evening of Performance, which is a set of three plays, and will be performed on February 9-11 and 16-17.
