A Virtual Presentation of Macbeth

A rebroadcast of a performance from October 2013 at CCA.

Streaming September 10th, 11th & 12th, 2021

Donation Based.

The performance will go LIVE on September 10th.

Feel free to enjoy the performance anytime between September 10th-12th

 

Playwright: William Shakespeare

Macbeth in Brief

In this world, the “Event” (a world-wide apocalypse) occurred 12 years ago. Survivors have gathered and banded together as tribes in order to survive the wild and unpredictable weather, beings of magic and mayhem, as well as fighting off the other tribes claiming dominion over the habitable lands. 

The “Weird” sisters, elemental witches of the land, gather to seek their next target: Macbeth. They begin to infiltrate into the tribe giving messages and information to the unsuspecting humans in order to further their goals.

Macbeth is a well-respected warrior and general, who led his tribe to victory for the King, Duncan. After a long and bloody battle he, along with his best friend, Banquo are given a prophecy by these Weird sisters: Macbeth will be made King and Banquo the mother to a line of Kings. These witches hail Macbeth “Thane of Cawdor” which later is echoed by soldier’s Ross and Angus, who inform the pair of Macbeth’s new title and rise to power furthering the prophecy’s effect upon Macbeth.

The tribe’s beloved King, Duncan greets his prized general and new “worthy” Thane but, in a surprise turn, bequeaths the throne to his son, Malcolm. The King announces that he and his party will sojourn to Macbeth’s castle and Macbeth leaves ahead of the party to make preparations for their stay.

Macbeth’s wife, upon hearing all that has befallen her husband, convinces Macbeth to move forward on the prophecy by killing the Duncan himself.  After some soul searching he agrees and the two make ready their plan.

Macduff, who ventured to the castle early to speak to his King, finds Duncan’s cold and bloody body. His cries waken the castle and all are devastated by the discovery. Upon hearing of their father’s death, the king’s children, Malcolm and Donaldbain, fear that their lives may be in jeopardy and flee. Unfortunately, Macbeth uses their leaving to foster suspicion that they murdered their father and claims the Kingship for himself.

Macbeth hires murders to kill Banquo and her daughter Fleance. They are only able to kill one of them. The other escapes. 

These murderous deeds begin to alter, twist, and cause tension between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She falls into madness.  

Determined, Macbeth finds the Weird Sisters in their lair and demands more answers on his reign and right to power. The witches summon underworld apparitions who warn: to be careful of Macduff, that no man of woman born can harm Macbeth, and not worry until Birnam Wood (a forest) moves to Dunsinane (the name of fortress). Macbeth uses this information to justify his order to kill off Macduff and Macduff’s family as he has learned that Macduff has garnered allegiance with Malcolm who has been steadily gathering an army against him.

Malcolm, with help from human and supernatural intervention, plans to attack Macbeth and regain his father’s crown. Macduff, devastated by the slaughter of his wife and children, vows to destroy Macbeth. He and Malcolm serve as the rebel’s chief hope in restoring the balance and reuniting the tribe.

Their epic battle will decide the fates of all.

Director’s NOTE:  From Lisa Roth

You may think that this story has nothing to do with you but I believe that it does. Macbeth is our story. Macbeth is about the choices that confront us on a daily basis. Do we choose love or fear? Do we trust and surrender or do we control and manipulate? In what ways do we take responsibility for our actions and how they effect the others around us? 

In the 90’s I lived in San Francisco and often took the bus to get around. One evening I watched a man confront a woman pasting a workshop flyer on the walls of the bus terminal. He was upset that she was doing this and in confronting her, he accidentally knocked over her glass jar of paste and water she was holding to put the flyers up. It shattered on the ground causing people to gather around the two of them. As I got onto the bus the man’s gaze caught my eye. In an instant I could see that he wanted to apologize, that he hadn’t meant to act so rashly, that if he could do to it again he would do it differently, and at the same time, the ire of the people around him and his own pride would not let him back down or tap into the vulnerability that so sadly graced his eyes. He saw no choice but to escalate his behavior. Those that gathered around him, voices raised, joined him in this unstated agreement that yes, someone would get hurt this night. As the bus pulled away I could see someone in the crowd push this man who, with eyes deadened, started to pull his arm back with hand in a tight fist.

He had a choice. The crowd had a choice. Had anyone had acted differently, would the result have been the same? What if Macbeth had chosen to believe and trust instead of being twisted by suspicion, fear, and greed? What if? Does it really cost us so much to be vulnerable? Truthful? Honest? 

I challenge you to watch this play with new eyes. As fantastic as this story is, it is still our story. We are confronted on a daily basis with our own fears, insecurities, sorrows, and joys. We choose how we deal with them and how we allow these experiences to inform our actions. What if we were a little more conscious? A little more communicative? A little more in our integrity? What would it change? Our lives? Our loves? The world? 

Interesting things about this play – The Story:

Twelve years ago the apocalypse happened. Nuclear war combined with deteriorating global warming created a new earth and it was birthed in the blood of billions upon billions upon billions. After the initial attack (and no one will ever know who struck who first) most ran to the unpopulated places like ants scrambling from a collapsing anthill. And yet, the earth, maimed and vengeful, seemly just opened up and swallowed whole areas of land eviscerating most survivors.

After that nightmare, those who remained found it necessary to wander. The earth, its weather, was tumultuous at best. Acid rain, sand storms, hail, and unbelievable heat could all happen in one day. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and tornados were weekly occurrences. The change in people grew. Those effected most by the nuclear blast tended to isolate at first becoming more and more non-verbal. Eventually their body changed, the voices guttural, and their hunger unimaginable. We had visions of zombies before but we really didn’t know. And these remnants of humans were to be feared but no more than the change in animals and in nature.

If you are here now then you are a survivor. If you are here now you choose to be the hunter instead of the hunted. If you are here now you have suffered unbelievable loss, seen unimaginable horrors, and have survived. If you are here now you had to rebuild your life from the scraps and tattered remembrances of a world now gone.
You are tribe. Tribe exists to survive. No one can do it alone. Not here. Not now. Tribe is loyal. Tribe is fierce. Tribe is life.

Feel that in your body. This, this knowledge, is in your DNA. To survive you have had to rely on people in ways you cannot imagine. And they were there for you. Whatever your role in this place, your survival is permanently linked to others in a bond so deep you cannot imagine any other way. These people, your people, are your blood, your life force, and your sustenance.

Tribe is how you survived. Tribe is how you lived.

…And yet now, that the tremors have faded, the weather more manageable, and survival more sustainable, there are some of you that are questioning, planning, plotting. Others aware. Others dimly aware. Others unaware. The weather is changing. And after so long, being of one mind, what emotions must stir when contemplating something so…foreign. Only you can decide where your loyalties are.

Take a deep breath. Let it go. This is the history that these characters collectively carry. Etc…

 

Donation based.