{"id":3752,"date":"2020-10-12T20:27:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T20:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pashakespeare.org\/?p=3752"},"modified":"2021-01-13T19:03:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T19:03:18","slug":"the-play-in-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pashakespeare.org\/press\/the-play-in-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Play In Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

To this day, historians still debate the exact date of the premiere of\u00a0Macbeth.<\/em>\u00a0It is widely agreed on that the play was acted after 1606 as it references many events that occurred that year. The first reference to\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>\u00a0being performed describes a performance at the Globe Theater on April 20, 1611 \u2013 there is no further record of performances for many years.<\/p>\n

In 1660, William Davenant adapted the play, making several major changes, including the introduction of dancing, singing and gibberish into the roles of the witches \u2013 who flew across the stage on machines. He also altered a great deal of the original text, adding entire scenes for Lady Macbeth. His adaptation remained popular until 1744.<\/p>\n

In 1744, David Garrick revised\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>\u00a0\u201cas written by Shakespeare.\u201d He cut many of Davenant\u2019s additional scenes, but also added a few of his own, including an eight line death speech for Macbeth. He starred in the production as well. Worried that critics would not like his new adaptation, Garrick released an anonymous pamphlet, before the opening night, criticizing his own performance.<\/p>\n

Sarah Siddons is the most famous of the English Lady Macbeths. She first played the part in 1785 and continued to do so until her retirement in 1812. Unlike actresses before her, Siddons reimagined the character and was able to arouse sympathy from the audience. Siddons\u2019 performance remained legendary, even after no one alive had seen it. In 1888, over 100 years later, Ellen Terry played in the same role. Fearing comparisons to Siddons, Terry \u2013 who like Siddons was considered to be one of the best actresses of the time \u2013 brought femininity and grace to the role.<\/p>\n

On May 10, 1849, rival actors William Charles Macready (British) and Edwin Forrest (American) played the role on the same night. That evening, a riot broke out between the rival fans, killing over 20 and wounding over 100. This infamous event would become known the Astor Place Riot.
\nLaurence Olivier performed\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>\u00a0in 1955, starring with his real life wife, Vivian Leigh, who played Lady Macbeth.<\/p>\n

Before he was a mutant or a wizard, Ian McKellen (Magneto in the\u00a0X-Men<\/em>\u00a0franchise and Gandalf in\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0franchise) took on titular role in 1976. He would later go on to play the role again \u2013 this time on film \u2013 in 1979.\u00a0X-Men<\/em>\u00a0co-star, Patrick Stewart (Professor Charles Xavier) played Macbeth in London\u2019s West End in 2007.<\/p>\n

Thomson Jaffe
\nEducation Program Assistant<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To this day, historians still debate the exact date of the premiere of\u00a0Macbeth.\u00a0It is widely agreed on that the play was acted after 1606 as it references many events that occurred that year. 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