The GCSE drama classes went to see the Watermill Ensemble’s riveting production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Oxford Playhouse on Thursday 19 September, 2019.
The company’s production notes informed us of the following: In times of uncertainty, power is within reach for those with the strength and courage to seize it. A ruthless, violent struggle for power leads to a devastating coup. Fuelled by greed, ambition and desire, the Macbeths will stop at nothing to survive.
Blazing with tension, energy and passion and inspired by the fierce sounds of Johnny Cash and The Rolling Stones, The Watermill’s resident Shakespeare company fused electrifying actor-musicianship with Shakespeare’s thrilling tragedy.
Katie Lias created a set design that radiated a sense of devastated decadence and of something left behind. The set took us from a military bunker to Macbeth’s castle reimagined as a hotel, with bullet holes and crumbling walls aplenty.
Annabelle F (L5) said “The set helped us to engage imaginatively in the world that had been created”.
The dynamic cast was led by Billy Postlethwaite as a brooding Macbeth and Emma McDonald as a fiery Lady Macbeth. The girls found the rapport between these two was convincing.
All the students found this production very exciting and will have plenty to write about for their GCSE drama exam.
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.png&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "An excellent set of GCSE results at Queen Anne’s, Caversham")
