Macbeth takes stage in Klein Theatre

By MEAGHAN MCINTYRE

On Thursday, April 13 I and three of my friends found ourselves making our way across campus to Klein Theatre where we would proceed to watch a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. That night, what originally started as a class assignment became an enjoyable memory for the four of us.

When Miranda Batte-Futrell and I were deciding when we should go see Macbeth for our Introduction to Theatre class, both of our future roommates for next year expressed an interest in coming with us. All of us were familiar with the plot of the play, but this was the first time any of us had seen it performed as a stage production.

Overall, the four of us thoroughly enjoyed the play and felt it was a good experience. By the time it ended, we found ourselves analyzing it as we walked back to our dorms. One thing we found was that different scenes stood out to each of us.   

“My favorite part was the scene with the porter, which didn’t amuse me when I read the scene, but had me in stitches from laughter when it was performed,” said freshman psychology major Batte-Futrell. “The actress did an amazing job and I always had high expectations when I saw her walk onto the stage.”

As a group, we all agreed that the characters who seemed to fully commit to their roles really added to the overall presentation of the play. 

“My favorite characters were the witches and the porter,” said freshman psychology major Alexis Erb. “They all acted really great and got into their roles.”

Alongside the humorous scenes, the ones where individual characters displayed intense emotions were also memorable.

“Another favorite of mine was the scene where Lady Macbeth was being observed by the doctor and nurse,” said Batte-Futrell. “The actress did an excellent job conveying her insanity.”

Though we all felt that for the most part the production was well done, there were a few critiques that we had.

“My least favorite part was when the blood from killing Banquo was splatted on the murderer’s face, but his dagger appeared clean,” said Batte-Futrell. “This was a slight inconsistency I didn’t like.”

What we saw of the fight scenes at the end were engaging, but as viewers we felt some disappointment over them not being more visible to the audience.

“In general, it was portrayed really well but some of the fight scenes towards the end should have stayed on stage instead of in the wings,” Erb said.

Despite the ways in which we think the performance could have improved, in the end we all enjoyed ourselves and were glad to have had the opportunity to attend the play as a group. 

“Overall I think it was a great production,” Batte-Futrell said.