Shakespeare’s Macbeth is my favorite!
“Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble…”
I know, if I want to impress, I should say – Hamlet, King Lear, etc.They may be “deeper”, but, they’re not as much fun.
Macbeth has witches- 3. It has ghosts – 8 plus. (Hamlet only has a flickering dad). The play has a “moving” forest and a man with a questionable birth. This is drama!
You are grabbed with the first scene and it won’t let you go until that pesky forest starts to inch forward, (I hope I haven’t given too much away)
I’ve seen Macbeth on stage twice – in one version, the witches were in Japanese white Butoh masks (interesting). I have relied on an occasional reread and film rentals to revisit this story of power and madness. There are several British color versions from the 70’s and 80’s, but, the Orson Welles’ version is my favorite. He starred in and directed a stark, black & white minimalist film (read low budget with paper-mache sets, and cardboard crowns) in 1948.
Welles, as Macbeth, and Jeanette Nolan, as Lady M, bring the play to life. They, and the rest of the spirited cast, proceed to climb the scenery, without there being much to climb. (The sets are pretty bare). All underlying ambition and greed of the passionate duo is uncovered, They eventually totally embrace their baser nature and self destruct. Sound familiar?
Wm. Shakespeare’s flawed characters’ transcend centuries – we can still relate. Love it.