Year 10 are currently studying the Shakespearean drama text, Macbeth. In an attempt to make the text more real, we had Bell Shakespeare visit the College and perform parts of the play. This was a great experience for the students as many of them have never had a theatre experience before.
The performance demonstrated the relevance and numerous ways that the play can be performed which coincided well with their upcoming assessment task.
The students engaged positively with the performance and hopefully they will reap the rewards from the experience.
Janette Durand
Leader of Learning - English
On Tuesday 14 August, Year 10 were treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth by the Australian Bell Shakespeare group. In Year 10 English we are currently studying the text of Macbeth, so this tied in well to what we have been doing in class. The performance was staged in the hall and although simple it was very entertaining and informative. It was set up and staged as a rehearsal, which we all believed, until they revealed that it was in fact the real thing. This added to the entertainment value and gave the performance a unique feel. We all enjoyed Danny’s performance as Macbeth and were very engrossed in watching the way he developed the character. On top of this it helped with our understanding of the underlying themes as well as the ‘translation’ of the text. Personally it was the first play I have ever seen and I know for the people in the same boat it was a great first experience of professional theatre.
Will Micheletti
Year 10, Kelly 6
Last week, Year 10 watched the famous play Macbeth written by Shakespeare. This was performed by a group of three who have been studying Shakespeare and his plays. In English, our topic for this term is on the play Macbeth and this performance was shown to us to give us a better understanding of what the play was about. The performance was set out in the form of a theatre and that gave us an idea of what Shakespeare's plays were like. The group had also made it more entertaining for us by having a few comedic sections throughout the play. I thought they made the play very enticing and interesting and it has helped me and I’m sure a lot of other people have more of an understanding of the play itself.
Max Rees
Year 10, Montagne 6
Last week Bell Shakespeare visited our school to perform numerous scenes from Macbeth. The performance pretended to be a ‘rehearsal’ in which the performers would make it appear as if the scenes they were performing were heavily improvised. But in the end when questioned it was revealed the entire performance was scripted. The performance only had three actors in it, each actor playing numerous different roles.
Although at first it was an odd performance, everyone very quickly loved it. The performers called up several audience members to take part. I was one of the chosen few. Myself and Josh Parker were told to be the three witches which Macbeth meets, the other performer being the third witch. The actor told us to read the sign she was holding which said ‘All hail Macbeth’. I cackled like an evil witch and chanted ‘All hail Macbeth’ a few times in playing my part.
The production was extremely entertaining and managed to capture and hold the attention of the entire Year 10 group, which is indeed an impressive achievement. Not only was the performance entertaining but it also taught us a lot about Macbeth and how the story played out. Even though they only showed us a few scenes from Macbeth, we still gained key points of information about the play. This form of play was much more engaging than just reading a textbook. Hearing the performers and the interaction, gave us a much better visual representation of the play, which helped immensely in following what was happening.
Throughout the performance they taught us what some of the cryptic text meant and what was about to happen. They also taught us things such as a monologue: a single person talking, and a soliloquy; someone's thoughts spoken aloud without the other characters knowing. The performance was extremely engaging and personally I would love to see them perform once again. Leaving the performance, I was mesmerised as to how well the production was performed and was astonished at how they managed to pull it off with only three people and doing it so well keeping the entire year group engaged.
The performance will greatly assist us with our English work, especially after seeing a visual representation of Macbeth. We can now make references to the play which will assist everyone in understanding areas that were confusing previously. I strongly believe my knowledge and understanding about Macbeth significantly improved and is now more well rounded than it was beforehand. Furthermore I believe this experience was great for everybody and will further their education and understanding about Macbeth.
Kirwin Webb
Year 10, Chanel 3
