Food for thought in new version of cursed play
IT has been a very busy summer for Open Book, the Gairloch-based but Caithness-connected theatre company.
The company have been touring the Highlands and Islands with a new version of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, while simultaneously preparing for the forthcoming stage adaptation of “Para Handy”, a co-production with Eden Court Theatre.
“This whole process has been quite difficult for us,” John Cairns, Open Books’s producer and co-founder, said.
“We have ‘Macbeth’ on tour and then we more or less go straight into ‘Para Handy’ and we have just signed a contract for a project with the RSAMD in Glasgow called ‘Atlantic Odyssey’, designed to link arts organisations in the west coast with others in Denmark and the Faroes.
“Each local group will have control of their own project, but they will be linked by theme and images. We hope to establish new informal networks that will then go on to generate their own projects.
“We have also signed a contract with an American University for next summer, involving a new show for students coming over here, and as a result they will now get to spend a week in Glenelg as well as three weeks in Glasgow.”
Open Book’s production of “Macbeth” concludes its run in Inverness this weekend. The tour was funded by the Northern Scottish Touring Fund’s under their North By North East project, aimed specifically at funding the creation of new work for venues in the Highlands and Islands and the North East.
The play itself has an unusual staging concept set entirely around a banquet table, with the actors in 20th century costume. Some of the audience are seated at the table itself — with shortbread and a whisky on offer during the interval.
“We first started thinking about ‘Macbeth’ in the context of taking Shakespeare into castles for tourists,” Cairns explained.
“I had spoken to North Highland Connections in Caithness about it and the idea for the banquet at the heart of it came out of an idea about maybe serving a meal in the middle of the show.
“When I spoke with the director, Marcus Roche, about it, he took the idea away from cultural tourism to how the show might work in the theatre with the banquet at its heart. In its original concept it would have had a potentially larger budget, which is one of the reasons we have a cast of six, but we have had to re-think it for a smaller budget.”
James Mackenzie (known to younger television viewers as CBBC’s “Raven”) and Thurso-born Helen Mackay play Lord and Lady Macbeth.
Completing the cast are Ewan Donald as Macduff, Cameron Mowat as Malcolm, Garry Collins in the role of Banquo and Michelle Gallagher tripling up by playing the Witches.
Marcus Roche’s pared down version of the play will also feature work in glass and jewellery by Caithness-based visual artist Patricia Niemann.
“I’ve always been interested in bringing together people from different disciplines to work together,” Cairns explained.
“I suggested to Marcus we should speak to Patty about working with us on a look for the show rather than in a straight theatre designer role.
“We were interested in the impact that bringing a visual artist into the process might create. She is very inspired by the landscape in Caithness and the impact of Caithness on me has been very great as well. Although the company is not based there, I would say that we are informed by Caithness. A lot of the stuff we do has grown out of the example of Grey Coast Theatre, and I am quite proud of that.”
Despite being informally steered away from Shakespeare, they decided to put the idea forward to North By North East, and were one of the four successful applicants in the first round of awards.
“The fund was interested in having people explore different ways of working, so we had an ideal opportunity, even if they did say don’t choose Shakespeare!” Cairns said.
“At Open Book we have tried to concentrate on getting really good people to work with, and that is the case again here.
“One of our main aims is to get Shakespeare across in an accessible and exciting way, but with touring opportunities getting less and less, this is also a great chance to bring people into the touring experience.
“Patty has also been sketching the actors in rehearsal, and her drawings will be on show as a foyer display at the tour venues. We’ll also have some images of her jewellery in a PowerPoint display — they are too valuable to tour!”
“That may also bring Patty’s work to a different audience. We would like to do more of that kind of exploration, but maybe with a bit more money to devote to it and to spend on rehearsal and development.”
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, is at the OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, this evening and tomorrow at 7.30pm.
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The Scottish Play
According to legend, “Macbeth” carries a curse because Shakespeare used real witches’ curses in his text.
By tradition, actors never use the title of the play in a theatre, referring to it as “The Scottish Play” and its protagonist as “The Scottish King” or “Mr M”.
If one of the cast or crew does utter the “M” word, the curse can be counteracted by a number of rituals.
These include immediately leaving the building and walking around it three times before spitting over the left shoulder and saying an obscenity and then waiting to be invited back in.
An alternative is to recite lines from “The Merchant of Venice”, thought to be a lucky play.
