(no subject)
Hi! I discovered this community a week or so ago - very happy to have found it! Glad there are others out there who are fans of Mr Cowan.
Wanted to share with you my experience of seeing 'Macbeth' yesterday (Sunday 20th). I had been reading here all about it and had seen various reviews etc and just on a whim went looking to see if there were any tickets still available - was very pleased to discover that there were and before I had really thought it out had bought two tickets for the 1pm performance, standing in the yard! Being that I live across the other side of England to London, I then had to consider the logicistics of getting there! I persuaded my brother that he really wanted to come too, sorted out transport and off we went.
My first impressions of the Globe itself were excellent - it looks so much smaller than I imagined it would. As we were in the yard, we got to spend the whole play with our heads poking through the canopy at the front of the stage. That was a rather novel approach to viewing the play, but we had an excellent view and were treated to a few surprises along the way - not least of which were the bloodied bodies of the damned bursting up through the canopy right at the start (I was originally standing beside one of these holes and I was actually quite glad I moved!) coupled with the witches running about beneath it scaring everyone. Absolutely fantastic way to start things off. The way the cast interacted with the groundlings really added to the experience and I really wished that I had been to such interesting and vibrant productions of Shakespeare when I had been studying him at school!
Elliot was fantastic. His Macbeth was human and frail and vulnerable and that made it all the more believable when he started to question himself and his deeds. His chemistry with Laura Rogers, playing Lady Macbeth was great - there were a few bits that were pretty full on between them (you need to believe that this is a husband and wife influencing each other to dreadful deeds, and so there needs to be something of a spark between them). That a couple of these bits required Elliot to remove his shirt was in no way gratuitous and totally neccessary to the advancement of the plot...ahem. There were a few fairly intense moments when, in full flow, Elliot stared directly into the crowd and it's not too hyperbolic to say that it felt like he was directing his words directly at you - being that there is no lighting as in a conventional theatre, everyone can see everyone else and where we were standing you were so close that you missed nothing, not one expression. I can't say how far away he and the rest of the cast stood from us, but it was mere feet. To be that close to the action, as it were, you can't help but feel almost implict in Macbeth's crimes and to just be completely drawn in.
Thankfully, didn't get splattered by any of the blood or, as a few unfortunates did, by the Porter's bucket of pee, but I don't think I would have minded if we had. Elliot aside, this was an amazing production which really engaged the audience in it, and there was none of the staidness that I can remember from so many other Shakespeare productions (I have seen 'Macbeth' before but can only remember being bored by it) The rest of the cast were briliant and did spark more than a few 'haven't I seen them in something?' discussions on the way home. The character of the Porter was particularly gruesome and pretty lewd, but also hilarious. In fact, I was surprised by the considerable amount of humour in the play - a nice counterpoint to the darkness.
All in all, I was so glad that I gave into the impulse and bought tickets. My brother, who was really only there to ensure I didn't get lost, said that it was 'epic' and 'Shakespeare done properly'. I can't help but agree with him. While I must confess that my prime reason for wanting to see the production was the chance to see Elliot in the flesh, as the play went on, that became the least important reason to be there. Just to experience such a brilliantly executed (ha!) production as this was enough. That there was a rather nice looking actor to admire was the icing on the cake!
Wanted to share with you my experience of seeing 'Macbeth' yesterday (Sunday 20th). I had been reading here all about it and had seen various reviews etc and just on a whim went looking to see if there were any tickets still available - was very pleased to discover that there were and before I had really thought it out had bought two tickets for the 1pm performance, standing in the yard! Being that I live across the other side of England to London, I then had to consider the logicistics of getting there! I persuaded my brother that he really wanted to come too, sorted out transport and off we went.
My first impressions of the Globe itself were excellent - it looks so much smaller than I imagined it would. As we were in the yard, we got to spend the whole play with our heads poking through the canopy at the front of the stage. That was a rather novel approach to viewing the play, but we had an excellent view and were treated to a few surprises along the way - not least of which were the bloodied bodies of the damned bursting up through the canopy right at the start (I was originally standing beside one of these holes and I was actually quite glad I moved!) coupled with the witches running about beneath it scaring everyone. Absolutely fantastic way to start things off. The way the cast interacted with the groundlings really added to the experience and I really wished that I had been to such interesting and vibrant productions of Shakespeare when I had been studying him at school!
Elliot was fantastic. His Macbeth was human and frail and vulnerable and that made it all the more believable when he started to question himself and his deeds. His chemistry with Laura Rogers, playing Lady Macbeth was great - there were a few bits that were pretty full on between them (you need to believe that this is a husband and wife influencing each other to dreadful deeds, and so there needs to be something of a spark between them). That a couple of these bits required Elliot to remove his shirt was in no way gratuitous and totally neccessary to the advancement of the plot...ahem. There were a few fairly intense moments when, in full flow, Elliot stared directly into the crowd and it's not too hyperbolic to say that it felt like he was directing his words directly at you - being that there is no lighting as in a conventional theatre, everyone can see everyone else and where we were standing you were so close that you missed nothing, not one expression. I can't say how far away he and the rest of the cast stood from us, but it was mere feet. To be that close to the action, as it were, you can't help but feel almost implict in Macbeth's crimes and to just be completely drawn in.
Thankfully, didn't get splattered by any of the blood or, as a few unfortunates did, by the Porter's bucket of pee, but I don't think I would have minded if we had. Elliot aside, this was an amazing production which really engaged the audience in it, and there was none of the staidness that I can remember from so many other Shakespeare productions (I have seen 'Macbeth' before but can only remember being bored by it) The rest of the cast were briliant and did spark more than a few 'haven't I seen them in something?' discussions on the way home. The character of the Porter was particularly gruesome and pretty lewd, but also hilarious. In fact, I was surprised by the considerable amount of humour in the play - a nice counterpoint to the darkness.
All in all, I was so glad that I gave into the impulse and bought tickets. My brother, who was really only there to ensure I didn't get lost, said that it was 'epic' and 'Shakespeare done properly'. I can't help but agree with him. While I must confess that my prime reason for wanting to see the production was the chance to see Elliot in the flesh, as the play went on, that became the least important reason to be there. Just to experience such a brilliantly executed (ha!) production as this was enough. That there was a rather nice looking actor to admire was the icing on the cake!