On Thursday the 16th of March we went to see Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the National Theatre. If I should describe the experience in just a few words, it would be “interesting, “different” and “very modern”.
In the very beginning of the play, various video clips were projected on the background, and three witches with bears came singing on the stage. The whole play was spoken in modern Finnish, which added to the modernity of the play.
The acting itself was very good and it fit the mood of the play. The props were well-chosen and –used. A highlight of the play was a musician, who was on the stage nearly all the time playing various instruments from the drums, to the guitar and the saxophone.
All in all, if you want to see a very different version of Macbeth, you should give this one a chance.
- Saara Holopainen
In my life I have seen quite a lot of operas and also plays on stage, thanks to my grandmother. She worked at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and a few years ago I was able to watch and enjoy a brilliant version of Macbeth, which I really liked. The singing, the music, the acting and the original text, of course.
This modern version of Macbeth in the National Theatre was nothing like that. I was quite disappointed about almost everything, though the acting was good. To be honest, I think that a 400-year-old play should not be destroyed like this by too many details and special effects. The worst thing was the translation into modern Finnish. It now might be necessary to visit the Savonlinna Opera Festival again in order to get rid of these memories and the experience the play in a more classic form that’s closer to the original. – Samuel Brummer
We 11th graders went to the Kansallisteatteri on Thursday evening to watch Macbeth. The play was a very modern version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and it was translated from old English into modern Finnish.
It was interesting to see how you could make such an old play very modern and it was nothing like the classical Macbeth play would be. The best part about the play were the props. They were very modern and minimalist, and they were nicely detailed. They were able to change the mood very well for example by using lights, the rain or images in the background. Although the play itself was a bit strange, the actors were very good and talented. There was also music which added to the play and some of the actors could sing very well and the musicians were very talented too.
All together the play was interesting and different from other plays. – Cecilia Vuori
On Thursday 16th of March, we, 11A and B were watching Macbeth at the National Theatre with our teachers.
The play was quite interesting and very modern and had a lot of pretty odd elements in it. For example, the three witches were singing, and the background videos had DNA strings and Donald Trump in it. And although the play lasted for approximately three hours, I didn’t find it boring because there was something going on all the time. In my opinion the best part of the play was towards the middle when Macbeth and his wife started to plan the murder of the king.
Overall ’Macbeth’ was an interesting experience, but I would not want to see it again. – Martta Iivonen
