“Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleeve of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast…”

Workshop 1 – 23rd August

First read through and discussions.

Topics discussed included:

Drugs
Nature vs. Un-Nature
Setting
Darkness
Hecate and English Doctor – To Cut or Not
Malcolm’s motivation in 4.3
Doubling
Husbands and Wives
Fathers and Sons
Why does he do it?
2:2
Humour
Lennox and Lord
Time
The Witches
Children
Bend a Gender!

Workshop 2 – 30th August

Masterclass: “Fear, Damnation and The Supernatural” – Tobias Deacon

“Macbeth” plays on some of our most basic fears – the dark, death and some of our actions defining us forever (“what’s done cannot be undone”). With such a famous play it is all too easy to forget that fear.  What does Macbeth see? What does the audience see? And how do we play with that fear? The workshop will consist of a symposium on fear and damnation followed by a practical exploration of witches, ghosts and other creatures of the night.

“And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope.”