The Year 8 Production of Macbeth

from 2021 Spring 'Play the Game'

From the Trust Board

MEDBURY SCHOOL PRESENTS

Macbeth

Monday 28 June at 1.30pm Tuesday 29 June at 1.00pm and 6.30pm The Medbury Centre Auditorium

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” - Charlie Chaplin. The Year 8 Production of ‘Macbeth’ did not have many funny bits (except for the ‘Drunk Porter’ scene) but we shared a lot of laughs in rehearsals. All the Year 8 boys were united in a common goal - to entertain and enthrall the various audiences. The four Year 8 classes each presented an edited version of the Scottish play, and each extract was set in a different era. A group of hopeless actors connected each of the four class’s extracts - The Comedy Crew.

The main goal of this group was to make the audience laugh, connect the plays and have fun ... hence the name ‘The Comedy Crew’. Both of us were in this crew and we also took lead parts in our different classes. Every Thursday, during the Year 8 Options Programme, eleven over-excited boys met together to rehearse the extra, unifying sections for Macbeth. There were so many comic moments in the midst of this tragic story.

The four class plays were set in four different eras. The first play (8L) was set in 1221 with the theme of Wolves. The second play (8D) was set in 1621 with the theme of the Ravens, the third play (8S) was set in 1721 with the theme of the Redcoats. The final play (8E) was set in 2021+ with the theme of the Clowns.

At the beginning of it all, we were like an unsolved Rubik’s Cube because we didn’t know our lines or movements, but every practice is like a turn of the cube and in the end, it gets solved. We vividly remember coming back at the end of the Term 1 holidays and watching Ms Fitz nearly pull her hair out watching us forget our cues and lines. Fortunately, after a few run-throughs, we were back in the game. Medbury School puts on a Shakespearean play every two years; the tragedy of Macbeth was first mounted in 2017. The boys were thrilled to be the lucky ones doing the bloodthirsty, sword-wielding Macbeth. They also got to be very hairy!

On behalf of the entire year group, we would like to thank all those who contributed. An amazing job was done by Mrs Keleghan, working on our authentic costumes. Mrs Curry worked on the realistic makeup with a group of volunteers. The tech side was fantastic - thanks to Mr Grieve, Mr Codd and the Tech Crew. Mr Redway and his team assembled the Mahon Stage and built the Castle Tower, and Julian Southgate, (from the Court Theatre) trained a team of creative Year 8 boys to make fantastic props under Mrs Johnson’s supervision. Mrs Chapman simply waved her arms and it was like magic - we could sing in tune! We would also like to thank Ms Fitzgerald for never giving up on us even during the most hopeless hours.

We really enjoyed being part of the Comedy Crew and we hope that all the boys will have many happy memories of the entire process and production of Macbeth.

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”

- Charlie Chaplin Charlie Wood, 8L, Head of Drama and Oscar Stove, 8D, Deputy Head Boy