The play has received high praise from Macbeth scholars and students alike. “Suddenly students who had been studying Macbeth said they really understood it in a way they hadn’t been able to when they had read it. Seeing it come to life enabled them to really grasp the meaning of Macbeth,” explained David Burrows, president and public relations director of Ringplay Productions.
Encouraged by the positive reactions of the students, Ringplay decided to stage Macbeth again, this time at a larger venue, the Dundas, and once again aiming to create something both familiar and provocative. Set within a modern Bahamian political landscape, the titles of King and Thane have been replaced with Prime Minister and Senator, and many of the traditional thou’s and thy’s have been traded with you’s and your’s. The more obscure Old English and Scottish words have been converted into the modern equivalent, the famous dagger’s ‘dudgeon’ now a ‘handle’, but Ringplay has committed itself to retaining the richness of Shakespeare’s language within a modern context. “Creating something familiar within a Shakespeare play allows people to easily tie themselves into something which is their reality, and makes the play more relevant to their lives,” said David Burrows. The universal themes of ambition, murder and deceit are to be found in almost every culture and certainly are pronounced issues in today’s media. What news report, after all, would be without its fair dosage of violence and corruption?
So what’s different about this Macbeth? Well, plenty. Director of Macbeth and artistic director of Ringplay Productions Philip Burrows has designed a new prologue including a chess board (you’ll have to come see it to find out!) as well as substituting Tony McKay’s music for the music of Queen which was used in the previous production. McKay’s music, including titles like ‘Damn Fool’ and ‘Pay Me What You Owe Me’, certainly gives the production more of a Bahamian flavour.
The witches, as in any production of Macbeth, play a pivotal role in Ringplay’s version, though their role is somewhat different to suit the political climate of our times. They pop up in various guises throughout the performance, as radio newspersons announcing Macbeth’s appointment to Chairman of the Party, as waiters at the Banquet, and traditionally as the spirits or psychological projections only Macbeth can see.
Though some of the original cast remain, over fifty percent of the roles have been recast. For those returning to Macbeth for a second time, the challenges are different than for those who are new to the script. David Burrows, who plays Macbeth, muses, “Its challenging this time around to make it fresh and find a different voice, and also to figure out my relationships with the other characters. I have more time to experiment than I did during rehearsals three years ago.” Lady Macbeth, played by Ringplay’s financial comptroller, Carrie Collins, says, “After three years I’ve found it difficult to get the feeling of Lady Macbeth who is a very complicated character. When we did the production at COB the actors were in and amongst the audience; using the Dundas’ more traditional space the audience and actors will be separated. This will change the energy.”
This time around actors will not only be performing on stage but in front of the camera. The filming of the first ever Bahamian Macbeth is an historical attainment for the entertainment industry in the Bahamas. Recorded for future students, scholars and lovers of literature to learn from and enjoy in the coming years, the completion of this film will be both a milestone for Ringplay Productions and a service to the educational community and to the cultural enrichment of the Bahamas.
The timing of this production was certainly not random. With BGCSE’s starting in mid-May, Ringplay Productions elected to bring Macbeth to the stage again for the students. “Macbeth has been a part of the English Literature syllabus for decades. Since our most joyful experience during the first staging was the response of the students and teachers, we wanted to bring Macbeth to a broader audience of students,” stated David Burrows. To this end Cable Bahamas Cares Foundation has agreed to sponsor one night just for the students. Tickets, ordinarily $20 for students, will be free for 334 students on that night. Grants from other local companies such as Aquapure will also assist in reducing the price of tickets for students. After-show question and answer sessions have been added to the end of each performance, specifically for those students and other audience members who have questions or need clarifications on a particular character or scene. Audience members will have the opportunity to direct questions towards any of the cast members or towards the director.
Aware of the difficulties students can encounter when reading Shakespearean language Philip Burrows emphasized, “The greatest challenge for any director is always interpretation, getting the message across. Shakespeare can be very daunting especially for students. We hope that our interpretation and presentation of Macbeth will bring together all that students of Shakespeare have been taught, that everything will click once they see what they have been reading.” The director’s goal with respect to the students of the Bahamas goes beyond simply enabling students to understand Macbeth for their BGCSE’s. He hopes to cultivate in them a lifetime of appreciation of Shakespeare’s works, inspiring enthusiasm for engaging with the Bard’s works, and helping to create a generation of theatre-goers who embrace the great range of theatre from classical to modern, tragedy to comedy.
And what’s next for Ringplay Productions? Well, a workshopping and eventual staging of Nicolette Bethel’s new play “The Children’s Teeth”; a writers’ contest with prize money and the staging of the winning writer’s play; and the establishment of a theatre just for Ringplay. And underlying all of these plans their mission: to bring all different kinds of theatre to audiences in the Bahamas by encouraging involvement from individuals in the community whether as backstage crew, set builders, actors, writers or audience participants.
And the secret of Ringplay’s success? Their vision, their core of committed and accomplished actors, and their creative fundraising and marketing. “You have to have a business head to do theatre successfully,” said David Burrows. Theatre is business, theatre is entertainment, and theatre is story. “There’s nothing like seeing stories of ourselves. It creates discomfort, it creates dialogue,” indicated an enthused David Burrows. Director Philip Burrows has the last say as he surmised, “Theatre is the picture that we show to the world of who we are; it’s a great educational tool; it’s a reflection of us and it should be seen and shown in the best light possible.”
Ringplay’s Macbeth will be staged at the Dundas from Tuesday, May 4th thru Saturday, May 8th and Tuesday, May 11th thru Saturday, May 14th. Tickets are $20 for students, $25 for adults, $30 for VIPs.
