This RSC production stars Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth and Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth. This version has been pre-recorded which does mean that, due to camera-angles, some aspects of the performance will be lost. Nothing can usually beat the experience of watching theatre live, however, many theatre companies have been providing us with the experience of watching pre-recorded performances in the comfort of our own homes. Through this example, I will examine the complex nature of the costume’s connections to older British performances as well as how this costume helps the audience connect not only to the play but the text and their heritage as well.
The adaptation of ‘Macbeth’ from 2018 by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has one prevalent example of this within the production. One selected aspect that is frequently embedded in Shakespeare productions, besides the language, is the traditional Shakespearean costume which has been drawn upon by designers and tweaked throughout the centuries. The historic heritage of cultural icons and institutions such as Shakespeare’s works is what Andrew Higson refers to as “a selective preoccupation with the past” in which ‘we’ define in the present through seizing selected aspects of the past and presenting them to highlight our current sensibilities. Shakespeare, however, is also considered an English playwright who deals with all things English, something that is especially interesting as it is believed he was born and died on St. The fact that his work has no copyright laws around it may account for his plays being consistently performed, however, his work also allows for the exploration of universal themes and concepts. Shakespeare as a writer has achieved not only canonical status within the academic community but also a contemporary celebrity status too. ĭespite being considered an English Playwright, here we will be looking at his ‘Scottish play’ ‘Macbeth’ which was originally written in 1606 and first performed to the public in 1611. It is then through the analysis of the costume that we can better understand the intentions of the play. The choice of costume is not only shaped by the directors’ decisions and the space in which the event is happening in, it is also shaped by the actors’ analysis of the play. Unlike other elements which make up the world of a performance, costume is the only one intrinsically linked with an actor’s body. This misunderstanding is extremely relevant within the productions of Shakespeare’s plays, as Jean MacIntyre points out, that when attention is paid to the imagery of clothing in his work it rarely considers the actor’s costume on stage. Ĭostume, as a theatrical element within performance, is usually forgotten about when analysing theatrical performances. In each of these examples costume becomes a “visualisation of someone other than the actor who wears it, and the clothing is chosen or designed for this particular theatrical moment”.
For example, I have seen an all-female Globe production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ which was set during the Elizabethan era, the late Ninagawa’s epic production of ‘Macbeth’ adorned in the native dress of Japan and a production of ‘Richard II’ which used everyday items such as a ketchup bottle and sponge to symbolise characters in a narrativised version of the play. Over the past 400 years various performances of Shakespeare’s work globally have led to various interpretations of his texts and how they are presented to the audience. Throughout renowned playwright William Shakespeare’s 38 plays clothing is an integral part of the text. In this week's blog, CS Ambassador Chelsey Lewington discusses the role of costume, heritage and identity in Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth’.
By the Pricking of My Thumbs: Costume, Heritage and British Identity in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’.
0 kommentar(er)
