Language of Theatre

Research your own Shakespeare play:  Macbeth,   What is the play about?  When was it first performed?  Find a contemporary production of the play you can get an idea of and research it in terms of concept, style, design, casting. Give some attention to your own character and their role in the play. Macbeth is a play about a man called Macbeth who is told by three witches that he will one day become King. With the influence of his wife, Lady Macbeth, he kills the King at the time Duncan and blames it on the guards. Duncans's two sons Malcolm and Donnelbain run away in fear of their lives as they know someone is after the crown. Macbeth is made King but the power and guilt starts to go to his head. His best friend Banquo suspects Macbeth of killing Duncan, so Macbeth has him killed. His guilty conscience comes back to bite him, and at a banquet Macbeth starts seeing Banquos ghost and goes crazy.  Lady Macbeth is also taken by guilt and starts to sleep walk ...

Analyse contemporary Shakespeare productions with reference to live performances you may have seen or  clips or footage available online. You should comment on what you notice about them and how they differ from what you know about the original performance conditions of Shakespeare’s work? (Don’t be afraid to point out the obvious). One of the best Shakespeare shows I have seen is A Midsummer Nights Dream at the Globe. It was amazing, they had modernized using costume, lighting and sound. Obviously in Shakespearears time there wasn't the technology that we have today, so I can imagine when Shakespeare put on this production it would have looked very different. But personally I thought the different music and dramatic lighting made the piece come to life. Back then they used natural lighting and maybe a few people playing instruments, so now everything has been upgraded. In Shakespeares time woman could not act at all on stage, well that is not the case today. I h...

What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them?  Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today? The Theatre back then was no where near like it was today, it was loud, dirty and full of drunk people. Theatre was not respected like it is now, to see a show was a good night out to laugh at the actors and throw food at them. You couldn't even really hear what was going on onstage.  The playhouses had galleried seating all around the yard made of several layers. Some had open roof, at the back behind the stage was a tiring house, where actors got changed. props were kept and stage effects would be managed.  Being an actor was very hard, you could have several shows to do at once. The pay was alright, and was shared between the whole company. Only boys/men could be actors. If you wanted to pursue this career you would join a company at a very...