Macbeth

Saturday August 22, 2009

I have seen Macbeth performed many times. This had to be one of the better ones, maybe the best.
The lead was played flawlessly by Peter Macon, a dead ringer for Samuel L Jackson, who did such an amazing job as Othello last year. The concluding fight scene between Macbeth and Macduff was incredibly real with blood and all. When the performance ended the whole place stood up and cheered even hoots and howls. Will Shakespeare would have enjoyed this performance.
What I learned this time around was the history around Shakespeare’s writing of this play and its relevance to the times. King James I had just succeeded Elizabeth I to the throne in 1603 and the play was written and performed in front of the king only a few years after that. Like Macbeth, James I was a Scot, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, who had been executed by Elizabeth about 15 years earlier. His father was also assassinated and James I had just escaped an assassination attempt (the “gunpowder plot”, Guy Fawkes etc.). Understandably, Jimmy the King was probably fearful of someone knocking him off.

If WS wanted to get the King’s attention with a play, this was the one! Imagine the look on Jimmy's face when King Duncan gets a knife put in his chest by Macbeth right at the start. WS sure had balls to write a play like this and perform it in front of a king with a lot of “baggage”.

For more on The Oregon Shakespeare Company www.osfashland.org