So, let me give you a little background history. Jared and I went four times to wait for day tickets for this play, because all the other tickets were sold out. They only sell 10 day tickets a day. And today, we finally got them.
In this theater, for this show, you had the stage, and then the normal audience, and then more seats where the backstage area would normally be. And we were back there. Most of the time, the actors entered and exited from behind us, marching or running down the aisle between our chunk of seats and the other.
The play started out with a bang. Literally. I didn't know it was starting, and there was this loud crash of thunder, and I jumped, and all these people in rugged, dirty, clothes with sawed-off shotguns and flashlights came up the aisle and onto the stage. It was great. And from there on, I was in awe.
Seriously. I think I watched most of the show with my mouth agape.
The lights were amazing. Lots of strobes and bright lights and some scenes with just flashlights. And the sounds were awesome. Drones and high-pitched things and, at one time, a loud, creepy radio.
I'm totally obsessed with the costumes. There were a lot of olive and brown-colored jeans, ripped-up sweaters, combat boots, and puffy, dirty vests. They were just amazing. The set was great, too. Lots of dirty chairs and dirty, shabby-looking tables and things. And the floors had grates in them.
And the grates were for the rain! Yes, it rained! A few times, rain came from the ceiling! And there was this amazing scene, where Macbeth is standing on the table, imagining Banquo's ghost, crushing plates and getting food all over the floor, and blood squirts down from the ceiling, all over him.
But at the end was the most amazing raining of all. As Macbeth is getting killed, it starts raining blood! And the blood starts pooling around Macbeth on the floor! Just imagine that for a second. It was INSANE!
And here we are, on the topic of Macbeth. James McAvoy was phenomenal. So, so, so, so, so, so good! He pulled off the language, and he knew what he was talking about, and he acted with such great emotion, and his voice sounded like it was straining, and he played crazy so well. And he did stunts, like sword/machete fight and slide down a ladder. And jump up on tables. And eat chemical potions, and hit himself in the chest, and spit all over. And fall. And throw himself backward. And run. A lot.
We had an acting class last night on how to act Shakespeare, and there were so many things we had to remember, just on how to first start reading the script. So, when I looked at James McAvoy and thought of all that, and also how he could remember all those lines, I was just blowing away. I also forgot who he was during the performance. I just thought I was watching Macbeth up there. Which is also a great sign.
The girl who played Lady Macbeth was really great, too. She played crazy super well. All of the acting was good, actually. But James McAvoy blew me away.
Oh, the Witches! I haven't talked about the Witches yet! So the Witches were these three women in freaky, scary gas masks who would come up from trap doors in the stage. It was great!
This show was such a spectacle. So incredibly amazing. And I love theater! And it's just so bittersweet, because I want to see this play again! Right now! But it's not a movie. And I can't rewatch it 17 times. So it kind of sucks. But it was totally and completely worth every second we spent waiting for tickets.
I've never loved Shakespeare so much.
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