DOCSLIB.ORG

Macbeth − Learning Pack Contents

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Macbeth − Learning Pack Contents Macbeth − Learning Pack Contents About This Pack ................................................................1 Background Information ..................................................2 Teaching Information ........................................................3 Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis..................................5 Find Out More...................................................................11 1 Macbeth − Learning Pack About This learning pack supports the National Theatre’s schools’ production of Macbeth, directed by Justin Audibert, which opened on 6th February 2017 at the National’s Dorfman Theatre in London. Our packs are designed to support viewing the recording on the National Theatre Collection. This pack provides links to the UK school curriculum and other productions in the Collection. It also has a plot synopsis with timecodes to allow you to jump to specific sections of the play. 1 Macbeth − Learning Pack Background Information Recording Date – 20th February, 2017 Location – Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre Age Recommendation – 12+ Cast Lady Macbeth...........................................Madeline Appiah Macbeth ............................................Nana Amoo-Gottfried Duncan ....................................................... Ashley Gerlach Banquo ............................................................Kayla Meikle Malcolm ......................................................... Ronak Patani Ross.................................................................Sharan Phull Macduff ............................................................. Jay Saighal Lady Macduff ...........................................Tripti Tripuraneni All other characters are played by members of the Company Creative Team Director .......................................................Justin Audibert Playwright ..........................................William Shakespeare Adaptor...........................Justin Audibert and the Company Designer ............................................................ Lucy Sierra Lighting Designer ...............................................Paul Knott Composer and Music Director ............... Jonathan Girling Sound Designer ............................................. Mike Winship Fight Director ................................................ Kev McCurdy 2 Macbeth − Learning Pack Teaching Information This production is particularly suitable for: • English Literature students who are studying the play for GCSE. • Drama and theatre students who are studying the play • Anyone with an interest in contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s plays. • Anyone with an interest in theatre for young people. In particular you might like to explore: • The director’s decision to relocate the action of the play to a post-apocalyptic world • How the music and sound design help to create the world of the play • The director’s decision to cast a woman in the role of Banquo There are a number of other productions in the National Theatre Collection that relate to this one, which you and your students may wish to explore alongside it. Other productions featuring members of the same creative team Production Date Artist The Winter's Tale 2018 Justin Audibert - Director The Winter's Tale 2018 Lucy Sierra - Designer The Winter's Tale 2018 Paul Knott - Lighting Designer The Winter's Tale 2018 Jonathan Girling - Composer Romeo and Juliet 2017 Lucy Sierra - Designer Romeo and Juliet 2017 Paul Knott - Lighting Designer 3 Macbeth − Learning Pack Teaching Information Other productions by William Shakespeare Production Date Director Coriolanus 2014 Josie Rourke Hamlet 2010 Nicholas Hytner Julius Caesar 2018 Nicholas Hytner King Lear 2011 Michael Grandage The Winter's Tale (Schools) 2018 Justin Audibert Twelfth Night 2017 Simon Godwin Romeo and Juliet (Schools) 2018 Bijan Sheibani Othello 2013 Nicholas Hytner 4 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis Differences to Shakespeare’s original* A new version aimed at younger audiences, this adaptation of Macbeth by Justin Audibert and the company condensed Shakespeare’s play to just under 90 minutes. • The characters of the Porter, Donalbain, Angus, Hecate, the Sergeant and the Old Man are cut. • The characters of Banquo and Ross are women. • The procession of Banquo’s eight future kings is cut, and instead the ghost of Banquo enters and picks up Macbeth’s crown, implying it will belong to his lineage. *Using Arden Shakespeare Second Series edition of Macbeth The Act and Scene in brackets indicate where the scene comes in Shakespeare’s original play. Prologue: Amid rhythmic percussion music there is a large battle. Seemingly overwhelmed, Macbeth enters to save Banquo and turn the tide to victory. Scene 1 (Act I, Scene iii) 0:03:03: Macbeth and Banquo encounter Three Weird Sisters, who address Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and as the future king. They also declare that though Banquo will not be king, his descendants will rule. The Witches disappear and Ross arrives to inform Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor. Scene 2 (Act I, Scene iv) 0:07:24: King Duncan praises Macbeth and tells him that he wishes to stay with him at Inverness. Duncan announces that when he dies, Malcolm shall inherit the throne. Macbeth reflects to himself that his ambition to be king is hindered by Malcolm's new status. Scene 3 (Act I, Scene v) 0:09:53: Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband of the Witches' prophecy and its partial fulfillment. 5 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis She is delighted, but fears that Macbeth's emotional weakness will prevent him from becoming king. Word arrives of Duncan's approach, and Lady Macbeth exults in the opportunity to kill Duncan. Macbeth arrives, and he is less enthusiastic, but she says that she will take charge of the murder. Scene 4 (Act I, Scene vi) 0:13:38: Duncan arrives and is greeted by the Macbeths. They dance and drink. Scene 5 (Act I, Scene vii) 0:14:55: Macbeth worries about his fate if he becomes a murderer. Lady Macbeth mocks him and fiercely stirs his ambition by questioning his manhood. He declares that he will go ahead with the murder. Scene 6 (Act II, Scene i) 0:19:25: Banquo and Macbeth speak briefly about the Weird Sisters. Left alone, Macbeth sees a hallucination of a 6 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis dagger. He is terrified at the prospect of murdering the king, but he forces himself to proceed. Macbeth murders Duncan. Scene 7 (Act II, Scene ii) 0:24:00: Lady Macbeth has drugged the king's guards, and she awaits Macbeth's return. He comes to report that he has killed Duncan, but is horrified at what he has done and fears he’ll never sleep again. Lady Macbeth upbraids him for bringing the bloody daggers with him instead of leaving them in the hands of the guards as planned. She goes to complete the deed as there is a knock at the gate. 7 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis Scene 8 (Act II, Scene iii) 0:27:10: Lennox and Macduff arrive, and Macbeth greets them, pretending to have just woken up. Macduff leaves to wake Duncan. He reappears and cries that the King has been murdered; he raises the alarm as Macbeth runs to the chamber. Macbeth returns and reports that in his fury he killed the guards, who he says are the murderers. As the group departs, Malcolm stays. He fears he will be suspected of the murder so flees to England. Scene 9 (Act II, Scene iv) 0:31:29: Ross tells Macduff that Malcolm’s fleeing has made him appear guilty of the murder and Macbeth will be crowned in his place. Macbeth is crowned King. Scene 10 (Act III, Scene i) 0:32:35: Alone, Banquo voices suspicion on how Macbeth became King. Macbeth enters and there’s tension between the two. Banquo leaves and Macbeth plots how to murder his friend, lest the prophecy of Banquo’s lineage comes true. He instructs two Murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Scene 11 (Act III, Scene ii) 0:37:01: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth discuss how they cannot sleep and the danger Banquo presents. Macbeth hints at the plot he has set in motion. Scene 12 (Act III, Scene iii) 0:40:19: The Murderers attack Banquo and Fleance, killing Banquo but Fleance escapes. Scene 13 (Act III, Scene iv) 0:41:25: At a banquet, a Murderer reports on the events to Macbeth. Macbeth sees a vision of Banquo’s ghost which no one else can see. This disrupts the banquet which eventually disbands. Alone, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth he will consult the Weird Sisters. 8 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis Scene 14 (Act IV, Scene i) 0:49:25: The Weird Sisters are creating a potion when Macbeth arrives. They give Macbeth a gas mask, which allows him to hear three statements: firstly to beware Macduff, secondly that no man born of woman can harm Macbeth, and finally that he will not be conquered until the forest of Birnam marches to Dunsinane. They leave and the Murderer enters, telling him Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth instructs him to go to Macduff’s castle and murder his wife and children. Scene 15 (Act IV, Scene ii) 0:54:54: Ross tells Lady Macduff that her husband has fled Scotland. The Murderer enters and kills Lady Macduff and her son. Scene 16 (Act IV, Scene iii) 0:58:06: In England, Malcolm and Macduff mourn the depravity of Macbeth’s Scotland. Ross enters and tells Macduff that Macbeth slaughtered his family. Macduff vows revenge, and he and Malcolm prepare an army. 9 Macbeth − Learning Pack Adaptation Details & Plot Synopsis Scene 17 (Act V, Scene i) 1:05:58:
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Twelfth Night Study Guide — 2 Twelfth Night a Support Packet for Studying the Play and Attending the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’S Main Stage Production
    a study guide compiled and arranged by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Twelfth Night study guide — 2 Twelfth Night a support packet for studying the play and attending The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Main Stage production General Information p3- Using This Study Guide p16- Sources for this Study Guide (and Additional Resources) William Shakespeare p4- Shakespeare: Helpful Tips for Exploring & Seeing His Works p5- The Life of William Shakespeare p5- Shakespeare’s London p6- Are You SURE This Is English? About The Play p7- Twelfth Night: A Synopsis p8- Sources and History of the Play p10- Commentary and Criticism Studying Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night p9- Shakespeare’s Common Tongue p9- Terms and Phrases found in Twelfth Night p11- Aspects of Twelfth Night p12- Twelfth Night: Food For Thought p13- Additional Topics for Discussion Classroom Applications p13- Follow-Up Activities p14- What Did He Say? p14- Who Said That? p15- Meeting the Core Curriculum Content Standards p16- “Who Said That?” Answer Key About the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey p17- About The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey p17- Other Opportunities for Students... and Teachers The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is an independent, professional theatre located on the Drew University campus. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dramatic Space of Hamlet's Theatre
    Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 4, 1 (2012) 59-75 “The Play’s the Thing” The Dramatic Space of Hamlet’s Theatre Balázs SZIGETI Eötvös Loránd University Department of English Studies [email protected] Abstract. In my paper I investigate the use of the dramatic space in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The tragedy will be observed with the method of “pre-performance criticism,” which first and foremost makes use of the several potentials a play contains and puts on display before an actual performance; it offers, also in the light of the secondary literature, various ways of interpretation, resulting from the close-reading of the play and considers their possible realizations in the space of the stage both from the director’s and the actor’s point of view, including the consequences the respective lines of interpretation may have as regards the play as a whole. Hamlet does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and scrutinises the very interaction between the dramatic space and the realm of the audience. I will discuss the process how Hamlet makes use of his private theatre and how the dramatic space is transformed as The Murder of Gonzago turns into The Mousetrap-performance. Keywords: Hamlet; The Mousetrap; dramatic space; pre-performance criticism Shakespeare’s Hamlet1 does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and 1 In the present paper I quote the play according to the Norton Shakespeare edition (Greenblatt et.
    [Show full text]
  • THEATRE of the ENGLISH and ITALIAN RENAISSANCE Theatre of the English and Italian Renaissance
    THEATRE OF THE ENGLISH AND ITALIAN RENAISSANCE Theatre of the English and Italian Renaissance Edited by J. R. MULRYNE Professor of English and Comparative Literary Studies and Chairman, Graduate School of Renaissance Studies, University of Warwick and MARGARET SHEWRING Lecturer in Theatre Studies and Course DirectoT, Graduate School of Renaissance Studies, University of Warwick Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978-1-349-21738-0 ISBN 978-1-349-21736-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-21736-6 © J. R. Mulryne and Margaret Shewring 1991 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1991 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly and Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 First published in the United States of America in 1991 ISBN 978-0-312-06771-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Theatre of the English and Italian Renaissance / edited by J. R. Mulryne and Margaret Shewring. p. cm. Revised papers from a Seminar on 'English and ltalian Renaissance Theatre' held at the University of Warwick, May 1987. Inc1udes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-06771-7 1. Italian drama-To 17OQ-History and criticism-Congresses. 2. English drama-Early modem and Elizabethan, 1500-1600-History and criticism-Congresses. 3. Theater-ltaly-History-16th century-Congresses. 4. Theater-England-History-16th century­ -Congresses. I.Mulryne. J.R. 11. Shewring, Margaret. 111. Seminar on 'English and Italian Renaissance Theatre' (1987: University ofWarwick) PQ4139.T54 1991 352'.409-dc20 91-21021
    [Show full text]
  • CYMBELINE" in the Fllii^Slhi TI CENTURY
    "CYMBELINE" IN THE fllii^SLHi TI CENTURY Bennett Jackson Submitted in partial fulfilment for the de ree of uaster of Arts in the University of Birmingham. October 1971. University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. SYNOPSIS This thesis consists of an Introduction, followed by Part I (chapters 1-2) in which nineteenth- century criticism of the play is discussed, particular attention being paid to Helen Faucit's essay on Imogen, and its relationship to her playing of the role. In Part II the stags-history of Oymbcline in London is traced from 1785 to Irving's Lyceum production of 1896. Directions from promptbooks used by G-.P. Cooke, W.C. Macready, Helen Eaucit, and Samuel ±helps are transcribed and discussed, and in the last chapter the influence of Bernard Shaw on Ellen Terry's Imogen is considered in the light of their correspondence and the actress's rehearsal copies of the play. There are three appendices: a list of performances; transcriptions of two newspaper reviews (from 1843 and 1864) and one private diary (Gordon Crosse's notes on the Lyceum Gymbeline); and discussion of one of the promptbooks prepared for Charles Kean's projected production.
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare's Globe Theatre the Globe Theatre Was Constructed in 1599, out of Timber Taken from the Theatre
    Shakespeare's Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599, out of timber taken from the Theatre. It stood next to the Rose, on the south side of the Thames, and was the most elaborate and attractive theatre yet built. The Globe was designed and constructed for the Chamberlain's Men by Cuthbert Burbage, son of the Theatre's creator, James Burbage. The lease for the land on which the Globe stood was co-owned by Burbage and his brother Robert, and by a group of five actors -- Will Kempe, Augustine Phillips, John Heminge, Thomas Pope, and William Shakespeare. Much of Shakespeare's wealth came from his holdings in the Globe. The Globe was the primary home of Shakespeare's acting company beginning in late 1599, and it is a possibility that As You Like It was written especially for the occasion. On June 29, 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, a misfired canon ball set the Globe's thatched roof on fire and the whole theatre was consumed. Swift reconstruction did take place and the Globe reopened to the public within a year, with the addition of a tiled roof. The new Globe theatre lasted until 1644, at which time it was demolished, and housing was quickly built where it once stood. Recent attempts have been made to re-create the Globe, and replicas have been built in Tokyo and in London. The Globe Stage The stage had two primary parts: 1) The outer stage, which was a rectangular platform projecting into the courtyard, from the back wall.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shakespeare Authorship Debate Continued: Uncertainties and Mysteries
    The Shakespeare Authorship Debate Continued: Uncertainties and Mysteries by Luke Prodromou his essay is a response to the fascinating collection of articles on the Shakespeare Authorship Question that appeared in the Winter 2019 Tissue of the journal Critical Stages (critical-stages.org/18/). Read together, those articles not only confirm that there really is a case for rea- sonable doubt about the Stratford man as the author of the works; they also suggest that pursuing this question can actually be an effective critical tool for a better understanding of those works. As a graduate of the Shakespeare Institute, Birmingham, I have often won- dered, from a scholarly point of view, why the eddies under Clopton Bridge in Stratford have seemed to arouse more curiosity as evidence linking the man from Stratford to the plays and poems of “Shakespeare” than do the growing number of details of a historical or cultural nature, which seem to me more enlightening. Scrutinizing Shakespearean texts for evidence of the author’s possible links to glove-making has consumed more scholarly energy than the abundant indications that our elusive author seems to have actually known Italy and Italian culture at first-hand and Elizabethan court life with an insider’s confidence. Even Stratfordian scholars have noticed that “the extent and loudness of the documentary silence are startling” (Worden, 2006: 24). Indeed, the chal- lenge of teasing out an explanation for this startling silence has been left to non-Stratfordians like Diana Price (see her volume, excerpted in CS 18, THE OXFORDIAN Volume 21 2019 13 The Shakespeare Authorship Debate Continued: Uncertainties and Mysteries Shakespeare’s Unorthodox Biography, 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare DT Vrs.2
    William Shakespeare (1564-1616) William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright of all time, and his writings have been celebrated for over 400 years.. He was an English poet, playwright and actor. Although his plays are what he is known for best, he also wrote poems that are still popular today. Shakespeare’s Family Life Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, about 100 miles away from London. He was the child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local land heiress. Shakespeare had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. In 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. Hathaway was from Shottery, a small village a mile from Stratford. Together they had 8 children. Shakespeare in London After he and Anne had twins in 1585, there are no records of the next several years of his life. Historians often refer to these years as the "lost years." There are lots of theories and stories about what Shakespeare was doing during this time. He and his family eventually ended up in London where Shakespeare was working at the theatre. During his time in London, Shakespeare’s first printed works were published. He also became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of actors. Shakespeare was the company's main playwright, producing about two plays a year, for almost twenty years. An acting company in England at this time would worked together to put on plays.There were typically around ten actors in a company including a lead actor, character actors, and some comedians.
    [Show full text]
  • A Shakespearean Theatre Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    A SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Jacqueline Morley | 48 pages | 03 Mar 2015 | SALARIYA BOOK COMPANY LTD | 9781905638598 | English | Brighton, United Kingdom A Shakespearean Theatre PDF Book Construction The Theatre was constructed in by James Burbage in partnership with his brother-in-law John Brayne on property that had originally been the grounds of the dissolved priory of Halliwell or Holywell. Who wrote this I need to cite this website Reply. Please introduce links to this page from related articles ; try the Find link tool for suggestions. Leave a Reply Want to join the discussion? Senate by August 1. Join 1o,ooos of other Shakespeare fans worldwide for immediate access to our latest content! Scenes and Monologues Theatre Companies. Female roles were thus played by young boys before their voices changed in puberty. A few years later, the Burbages lost their lease on the Theatre site and began construction of a new, larger playhouse, the Globe, just south of the Thames. Foundation of the Globe Towards the end of , problems arose with the property's landlord, one Giles Allen. The fact that both of these shareholders belonged to Shakespeare's company may indicate that the re- organization of the Curtain occurred when the Lord Chamberlain's Men were acting there. Langley had the theatre built almost certainy in From to it became the premiere venue of Shakespeare's Company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, who had been forced to leave their former playing space at The Theatre after the latter closed in But the court was constituted wherever the monarch happened to be staying.
    [Show full text]
  • Theatre and Metatheatre in Hamlet
    Theatre and Metatheatre in Hamlet KATE FLAHERTY 'I don't really agree with the notion of setting the plays anywhere in particular. When asked that question about Hamlet I tend to say that it was set on the stage.'-Neil Armfield1 According to his melancholy admission, neither man nor woman delights Hamlet. Yet when a troupe of players arrives at the court of Elsinore, he makes a gleefully reiterated plea that they perform for him; here and now: 'We'll have a speech straight. Come, give us a taste of your quality. Come, a passionate speech.'2 Without hesitation, and to further prompt the Player's performance, he nominates and begins a speech himself. At this moment, theatre is consciously made the centre of the action. It is one of several instances of metatheatre in Hamlet. Others include Rosencrantz's report of the success of the boy players (2.2.319-46), Hamlet's advice to the Players (3.2.1-40), Hamlet's 'antic disposition' and of course 'The Mousetrap' or play-within-the-play (3.2.80-248). Hamlet is a play deeply concerned with notions of play: the power of play, the danger of play3 and the threshold between play and reality. Many of the instances of metatheatricality mentioned above have received insistent critical attention. Hamlet's advice to the Players has been used both to support and to contest the hypothesis that Shakespeare there puts forward a manifesto of naturalism.4 Likewise the play-within-the-play has been taken up repeatedly as a key to the dramatic dynamics of the play by which it is encased.5 Hamlet's 'antic disposition' - whether analysed as a purposeful strategy within a unified psychological profile, or as a complex subversion of representational logic - seems to generate endless speculation.6 The arrival of the Players and the First Player's impromptu performance, however, seem to provoke relatively little inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Release
    PRESS RELEASE SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE REOPENS OUTDOOR THEATRE FROM 19 MAY EMBARGOED UNTIL 1PM WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH 2021 Shakespeare’s Globe is preparing to reopen its outdoor theatre on 19 May 2021. Provided the conditions are met for Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap for cultural reopening, the Globe will be welcoming audiences in for socially distanced performances, having closed on 18 March 2020. The summer season 2021 opens with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed By Romeo & Juliet and Twelfth Night. The GloBe Touring EnsemBle will perform As You Like It, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including some of the ever-popular Audience Choice performances. Metamorphoses, a new piece of theatre By the GloBe’s writers-in-residence and inspired By Ovid’s Myths, will open in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on 30 SeptemBer. The season includes: Jean Chan, Alfred Enoch, Sean Holmes, Sami Ibrahim, Ola Ince, Laura Lomas, Sabrina Mahfouz, Brendan O’Hea, Holly Race Roughan and Michelle Terry. For the first time productions will be live streamed from the GloBe stage, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and Metamorphoses. The outdoor theatre is introducing protocols for a safe return to live theatre for audiences in line with the See It Safely campaign from UK Theatre and SOLT, including staggered arrival times, allocated entrances, no intervals, pre-ordered drinks, and for the initial period of opening there will be seating in the Yard. Despite reduced capacity there are still limited tickets availaBle at £5. Opening in 2022’s summer season will Be the postponed 2021 production King Lear, with Kathryn Hunter reprising a performance that made history 24 years ago, in a new production with Helena Kaut-Howson returning to direct.
    [Show full text]
  • Twelfth Night's "Notorious Abuse" of Malvolio: Shame, Humorality, and Early Modern Spectatorship
    Twelfth Night's "Notorious Abuse" of Malvolio: Shame, Humorality, and Early Modern Spectatorship ALLISON P. HOBGOOD Emory University In John Manningham's famous account of a 1602 performance of Twelfth Night, or What You Will, he recalls the play as being most con- cerned with the gulling of Malvolio: A good practise in it to make the Steward beleeve his Lady widdowe was in Love with him, by counterfayting a letter, as from his Lady, in generall termes, telling him what shee liked best in him, and prescribing his gesture in smiling, his apparaile, 8a;., and then when he came to practise, making him beleeve they tooke him to be mad. (48) Here in his diary entry, Manningham inverts the main and sub-plots of Twelfth Night, ignoring Olivia's bereavement for her brother as well as the love triangle between Viola, Olivia, and Orsino to focus solely on Malvolio's duping. He describes the play not as a narrative about the limits of mourning or the pleasures of romantic love but about the cal- culated shaming of Shakespeare's "mad" steward. While Manningham's recounting certainly marks the play as engaged in comedie "good prac- tise," his subsequent inclusion of the epigram "Quae mala cum multis patimur laeviora putantur" in his diary troubles a reading of his reaction as strictly goodhumored.^ The Latin, according to Michael Baird Saenger, translates in two possible ways depending upon which meaning one takes from the term "laeviora:" it can be punningly deciphered as either "Those evils which are suffered along with others are easier" or "Those evils we suffer in the presence of many appear stiU more foolish" (67).
    [Show full text]
  • Macbeth Study Guide
    Sacramento Theatre Company Study Guide Macbeth By: William Shakespeare Study Guide Materials Compiled by Anna Miles 1 Sacramento Theatre Company Mission Statement The Sacramento Theatre Company (STC) strives to be the leader in integrating professional theatre with theatre arts education. STC produces engaging professional theatre, provides exceptional theatre training, and uses theatre as a tool for educational engagement. Our History The theatre was originally formed as the Sacramento Civic Repertory Theatre in 1942, an ad hoc troupe formed to entertain locally-stationed troops during World War II. On October 18, 1949, the Sacramento Civic Repertory Theatre acquired a space of its own with the opening of the Eaglet Theatre, named in honor of the Eagle, a Gold Rush-era theatre built largely of canvas that had stood on the city’s riverfront in the 1850s. The Eaglet Theatre eventually became the Main Stage of the not-for-profit Sacramento Theatre Company, which evolved from a community theatre to professional theatre company in the 1980s. Now producing shows in three performance spaces, it is the oldest theatre company in Sacramento. After five decades of use, the Main Stage was renovated as part of the H Street Theatre Complex Project. Features now include an expanded and modernized lobby and a Cabaret Stage for special performances. The facility also added expanded dressing rooms, laundry capabilities, and other equipment allowing the transformation of these performance spaces, used nine months of the year by STC, into backstage and administration places for three months each summer to be used by California Musical Theatre for Music Circus.
    [Show full text]