Second Studio’s production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is running Nov. 9,10,11 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the SUU Blackbox Theatre.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” also known as “The Scottish Play,” is about the title character who is a Scottish general. He receives a prophecy from three witches telling him that one day he will be the King of Scotland. He and his wife become consumed by their ambition and proceed to murder the king and take the Scottish throne for themselves. Macbeth becomes riddled with guilt from his acts and paranoia regarding how long he will be able to hold onto the throne.
The story is best known for it’s commentary about deadly ambitions and the consequences that may arise from an unchecked and unrestrained desire for power.
This commentary is present in the Second Studio performance of Macbeth, but the show comes with something more. Director Trevor Messenger, a senior theatre arts major from Morgan, said he wanted to highlight the language used by characters in Macbeth to denote the strength and fragility of an individual’s position by using phrases such as “be a man” and female characters being told that they are too weak to even hear about a dead body.
It was a commonly held idea in Elizabethan England that the role of women was to be the nurturers and caregivers of society, and this cast shows that women of the time are capable of more gruesome actions.
Macbeth in this version is a female, and is portrayed by Abigail Rose Nakken, a senior theatre arts major from Cedar City. She hits every note to be Macbeth: the guilt over her actions that brought about her quick rise to power, the paranoia and madness over keeping that power and what she is willing to do to maintain the crown.
The entire cast plays their parts to near perfection. The three actors who play the witches are truly amazing. Cambry Salway, a junior theatre arts major from Henderson, Nevada; Parker Rawlins, a sophomore theatre arts major from Rexburg, Idaho; and Julia Attridge, a junior psychology major from Salt Lake City are every bit as creepy, commanding and knowing as these supernatural beings should be.
This small cast makes their presence and the weight of the story fill the room and overflow out past the theatre entrance.
Tickets are $5 and can be reserved on eventbrite.com or purchased at the door. Seating is general admission and parental advisory is suggested.
Story by
Carlee Jo Blumenthal
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