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Macbeth of Fire and Ice Macbeth of Fire and Ice Educational Resource Pack By Jon Gun Thor with Jemima Foxtrot (Arcola Engagement) Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 Contents ° About this educational pack and how to use it. Part 1: The Play ° Macbeth ° Plot Synopsis ° Major themes and areas for discussion Part 2: Areas of study ° A background of Norse mythology ° The Weird Sisters and the Norns. ° Lady Macbeth ° Symbols in Macbeth Part 3: Activities and exercises ° Responding to the production ° General activities and exercises Part 4: Macbeth of Fire and Ice ° Production elements. ° Writing a critical review Part 5: Additional Material ° Landscape in Macbeth of Fire and Ice and Ragnar’s Photographs ° Further resources ° Cast and crew details Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 About this educational pack and how to use it This educational pack has been designed as an aid for teachers and students for use when studying Macbeth and especially in response to this production Macbeth of Fire and Ice. Part 1 provides a historical context of Macbeth , a simple plot synopsis, and summarises some of the play’s main themes. This can be used as a starting point for students and teachers. Part 2 focuses on three main areas: the Weird Sisters, Lady Macbeth and symbols in the play. It also looks at the connection between Macbeth and Norse mythology. This section includes study questions and practical exercises which can be used either before the students see the production or to reflect afterwards. Part 3 contains some more general study questions and exercises that tackle the play as a whole; again, these materials can be used either before or after the students see the production. Part 4 is for use after students have seen the production. It asks study questions about several elements of the production and then asks students to write a critical review of it. This is a useful tool for students to learn evaluation skills from a specific production. Part 5 contains an additional exercise which asks students to respond to photographs presented in an exhibition alongside the production. This section also provides suggestions for further resources and information about the cast and crew. Headings in RED indicate study or discussion questions Headings in BLUE indicate practical exercises Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 Part 1: The Play Macbeth Macbeth is believed to have been written between 1603 and 1607 and is most commonly dated as written in 1606. It is considered to be one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies. Originally set in Scotland, Macbeth tells a tale of how boundless ambition can have disastrous effects. Shakespeare's primary source for Macbeth was Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, first published in 1577. The outlines of Shakespeare's story are derived from Holinshed's account of Kings Duncan and Macbeth. In addition, Shakespeare seems to have taken many particulars from Holinshed's account of King Duffe, who died eighty years before Macbeth did. Holinshed’s Macbeth takes place in the 10th century and is influenced by one of the Icelandic Sagas; Orkneyinga Saga which was written around 1230 by an unknown Icelandic author. The Orkneyinga Saga is also known as The History of the Earls of Orkney and is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200. Plot synopsis The play opens as three Weird Sisters plan a meeting with the Scottish nobleman Macbeth, who at that moment is fighting in a great battle. When the battle is over, Macbeth and his friend Banquo come across the witches who offer them three predictions: that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and that Banquo's descendants will become kings. Banquo laughs at the prophecies but Macbeth is excited. Macbeth’s excitement is heightened as soon after their meeting with the witches Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, in return for his bravery in the battle. He writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, who shares his excitment, but is even more ambitious. A messenger tells Lady Macbeth that King Duncan is on his way to their castle and she invokes evil spirits to help her slay him. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan which he does by stabbing him to death. Macbeth is crowned king. Macbeth now begins to fear the third prediction that Banquo's descendants will also be kings will also come true. He therefore decides to have Banquo and his son killed, but the plan goes wrong - Banquo is killed but his son escapes. Macbeth then thinks he is going mad because he sees Banquo's ghost at his banquet. He then receives yet more predictions from the witches which seem so inconcievable that he believes he will never lose his position of power. He starts to become ruthless and kills the family of Macduff who is an important lord. Macbeth still thinks he is safe but one by one the witches' prophecies come true. Lady Macbeth cannot stop thinking about Duncan, becomes deranged and dies. A large army marches on Macbeth's castle and Macbeth is killed by Macduff. Macduff hails Malcolm as King of Scotland and Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 Malcolm makes the final speech of the play; he thanks everybody and promises that all of his thanes will be rewarded by becoming earls. Macbeth of Fire and Ice – The Production Macbeth of Fire and Ice is a modern and dynamic telling of the story of Macbeth influenced by Norse mythology. Icelandic Director Jon Gun Thor draws on his country’s culture and history to influence and shape this production. The raw brutality of the Vikings, the powers of the Valkyries, the mystic forest, the Nordic lights, the sounds of volcanic eruptions and hot springs all paint the picture of Macbeth of Fire and Ice . Major themes and areas for discussion Major themes in Macbeth include: ° Ambition: Macbeth’s ruthless search for power, encouraged by Lady Macbeth, is what fuels the action and causes his downfall. ° Evil: the urge to destroy whatever is good; the brooding presence of murderous intent and action. ° Order and disorder: the struggle to maintain or destroy social and natural bonds and the destruction of morality. ° Appearance versus reality: deciet and hypocrisy mean that appearances can not be trusted. ° Violence and tyranny: warfare, destruction and oppresion occur throughout. The play also explores the response of Macbeth’s subjects the escalating violence and how ambition can transform into tyranny. ° Guilt and conscience: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both know that murder is wrong but does it nonetheless and suffers agonies of conscience as a result. ° Gender: Lady Macbeth shows ruthless traits that are typically considered masculine, rather than typically feminie traits of loving and caring. There is a constant pressure on the men in the play to fulfil roles of masculinity. There could also be gender confusion about the Weird Sisters. Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 Part 2: Areas of study A background of Norse mythology Norse mythology, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of mythology of the North Germanic people stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the christianisation of Scandinavia and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. The following is an extract from the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Codex Regius. The author of the Poetic Edda is unknown. This extract can be read as background to Macbeth and several similarities can be drawn between the role of the three maidens of the poem and the three Weird Sisters of Macbeth . Völuspá. I know an ash stands, named Yggdrasill, a high tree, washed with white clay; from it come the dews that fall in the valleys, it stands ever grenn over Spring of the Past. From there come the much knowing maidens, three from the sea that lies under the tree: one was named Past, another present -they carved in wood- and Future the thid; Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 they laid down the law, they choose lives from the children of men people´s fates . Study Questions ° Can you identify what the the three maidens in Völuspá have in common with the three Weird Sisters in Macbeth ? ° Write your own poem which describes your own invented version of the Weird Sisters of Macbeth or the three maidens of this poem. Think about what they might look like, how they might speak and the effect their fortune telling abilities might have on the people around them. Practical Exercises ° Working in threes come up with at least three ideas about how to solve the problem of the stage direction Witches vanish (Act I, Scene III), think about what might be most visually effective for the audience. Choose one of the ideas to develop, rehearse and present to the class. ° In groups of three or more look at Act IV, Scene I and come up with an inventive way of presenting the three apparitions – an armed head, a bloody child and a child crowned with a tree in his hand. Be as inventive as you like and think about using moment, sound and any available props. Rehearse and present to the class. The Weird Sisters and the Norns. There are many parallels between the Norns of Norse mythology and the Weird Sisters of Macbeth .
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