In the continuation of the drama program of the XXXVIII Grad Theater festival in Budva, last night the play "Macbeth" produced by the International Shakespeare Festival from York was played on the stage between the churches.
This was the third, and also the last performance of this ensemble at the festival, after the previous two nights they performed "The Epiphany Night" and "How You Like It" in front of the Budva audience.
"Macbeth" is one of Shakespeare's most famous and most frequently performed tragedies, which follows the rise and fall of the Scottish nobleman Macbeth.
Prompted by the prophecy of the three witches and encouraged by the ambitions of his wife, the queen Lady Macbeth, Macbeth commits a series of crimes to secure and retain the crown. However, as the crimes pile up, feelings of guilt and paranoia begin to haunt Macbeth, eventually leading to his downfall.
This Shakespearean play explores themes of power, ambition, fate and moral decadence, raising questions about human nature and the limits we are willing to cross to achieve our goals.
Despite being written more than four centuries ago, "Macbeth" remains relevant today, dealing with universal themes that are applicable to all times and societies, making it a timeless work.
Tom Morris, the actor in the play, shares similar views.
"I think Shakespeare is relevant because he writes about universal themes that transcend time and are not limited to one time period. You can take any of these themes and they will be applicable to people from the time Shakespeare wrote his works all the way to a contemporary audience today. 'Macbeth' is just a great play, it has everything: murders, supernatural elements with witches, and it's just very, very exciting Shakespeare. I'm not sure why it's the shortest Shakespeare play, maybe because it has so much action packed into it those 90 minutes, and I don't think the audience could handle more because there's so much going on in those 90 minutes," Morris said, adding that the scene between the churches is incredible.
"The stage is absolutely incredible. When you look around, with the Citadel and between the two churches, it's such a special place to perform, and probably the most special place I've ever performed. The stage is just incredible and we took full advantage of it." , he said.
Actress Beatris Bauden pointed out that "Macbeth" is a timeless story.
"You can set it in any period. You can look at different political regimes and how this play relates to them, and kind of hold a mirror up to society and show them what's going on in their everyday lives through this play. I think that's what what makes it so special," Bauden said, adding that of the three plays they performed at the Gradu Theater, her favorite was "As You Like It."
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"I have to say that I enjoyed playing Rosalind the most in As You Like It, because it's such an iconic female character. She's probably one of Shakespeare's characters with the longest speeches, which is impressive, you know, and she's a very strong character. There are more significant and bigger Shakespearean characters, but Rosalind likes to talk, so it's really nice to have that opportunity to be very present in a play. Especially on a stage like this, I think this is the most scenic and beautiful place I've ever performed. Nothing compares with the feeling that I'm playing Viola in 'Epiphany Night' and I'm talking about how my brother drowned, but I'm actually in Illyria and I'm looking at this sea where he could have been drowned. You can't make that up in the theater," she said.
As in the previous nights, Tom Morris, Adam Perot, Jacob Ward, Thomas Jennings, Beatrice Bowden, Livy Potter, Katie Cohen, Sonya DiLorenzo, Nick Jones and Skylar Mabry played in the show, while the music for the performances was written by Nick Jones and Philip Parr. .
Bonus video:
