Director Mr Ben Abbott reports on Hereford Cathedral School's production of Macbeth at The Courtyard in February 2022
When we were looking for a production to celebrate the return of live theatre in school, I turned immediately to Macbeth. It may seem an odd choice to tackle Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy in a time of continuing doom and gloom, but it is a play that stirs the imagination, captures themes of power and manipulation, explores dark ideas with riveting drama, and all in the most stirring language. Students flocked to the auditions in the second week of the autumn term. Such was the quality of actors we saw, that we decided to double cast and make sure that everyone had an intrinsic part in the production.
Rehearsals were soon underway, varying from intense workshops on the power struggles of the Macbeths, to 50-strong whole cast sessions that brought to life the big set-piece moments. Among my favourite rehearsals was the stage-combat workshop from Courtyard stalwart David Durrant, in which we went from simple face slaps to wielding huge replica swords in dramatic duels. The use of a chorus to play out Macbeth’s interior monologues and to set the scene was our greatest artistic challenge and it was a joy to see this skill slowly emerge until each chorus was speaking in perfect unity and bringing the unique text and ideas to life.
Each week I would try to bring something along that added to the sense of a production: one week, the model set with its sliding doors, another a severed head or the king’s canopy, but it was only after the Christmas holiday with the appearance of the set in the Powell Theatre and costumes appearing on a daily basis that most of the cast could really see the final production emerging. Their response was to redouble their efforts in the rehearsal room even as some were being struck down by Covid. By the time we got into the theatre the energy and excitement was palpable. Apart from Miss Taylor, our Musical Director (ably substituted by Mr Evans) our last Covid victim returned in time for the dress rehearsal, which was nothing short of a Shakespearean miracle.
Our first audiences, 600 local primary school pupils were hugely enthusiastic, riveted throughout the performances and rapturous in their applause at the end. It was wonderful to see the magic of being in the theatre again working on our amazing cast, most of whom stayed in the wings to watch the play unfold during each performance. Our student make-up team got increasingly proficient at applying realistic stubble to our thanes and ever-more exotic eye make-up to our witches. Half an hour before each show, they gathered on stage for the company warm-up and our renditions of the final song finally took on the animated sense of triumph that we had been looking for.
Watching from the wings I could see a cast who grew with every performance in their confidence and mastery of the challenge, and as we dismantled the set on the Friday night and wheeled racks of costumes into the waiting van, we could reflect on another HCS production that will stay in the memory long after the final curtain call.
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