MACBETH
The Bournemouth
Shakespeare Players are presenting their
30th Annual Shakespeare in the
Priory House Gardens in Christchurch in
July 2008. They have presented everything
from bright comedies and educational
histories to handkerchief wetting
tragedies. Following the success of
last year's production (despite the wet
weather!) of " TWELFTH NIGHT "
they are embarking on their production of
William Shakespeare's notorious play
"MACBETH". It is a play
filled with superstition and witchcraft.
Many actors still refuse to refer to 'The
Scottish Play' by name because its
production history is littered with
inexplicable stories of accidents and bad
luck. Nevertheless, “Macbeth's”
dark themes have made it a popular play
ever since it was first staged at The
Globe in 1606, despite the fact that it
has some difficult challenges for
production in modern times. A major
challenge is the fact that the plot
appears to be driven by the witches. Not
metaphorical witches, real ones. The
witches' prominence in the play and the
prejudices of audiences who have grown up
with recitations of 'toil and trouble' at
school, have given some directors painful
headaches. Actors of every generation
have relished playing the parts of the
Macbeths. The cast lists for this play
include Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh
(1955) and Sir Ian McKellen and the
Player’s own President Dame Judi
Dench (1976). Apart from these
roles there are many others with great
depth and intensity. This will be the
Player’s third production of this
play having performed it both in the
open-air and indoors.
Celebrating 30 years
of presenting Shakespeare in
Christchurch, this year's production of “MACBETH”
will be presented in the Priory House
Garden, Christchurch, from Tuesday
15th July to Saturday 19th July and TUESDAY
22nd July to SATURDAY 26th July 2008 at
8.00 p.m. Tickets and further details
on Tel No. (01202) 534776. Tickets are
available from the Tourist Information
Centre at Christchurch and The Tempest
Restaurant, Christchurch. Tickets are
valid for any night. You buy the ticket
and then choose the night you want to see
the show. The play will be directed by
Kevin Dicker. Costumes will again be from
the Royal Shakespeare Company,
Stratford-upon-Avon and the Player’s
own wardrobe.
The Company has
continued to encourage young actors and
introduce them to the joys of
Shakespeare. One of the best ways to
understand Shakespeare is to see it in
performance and also to perform it.
Several past members of the Players have
since gone on to drama schools and into
the professional theatre as well as the
film and television world. The
Players are a non-profit making
organisation and in 1988, it was able to
fulfil a long-held ambition to adopt a
charity. This year marks the fourteenth
year of support to the Macmillan Trust
Cancer Unit in Christchurch. The Players
began supporting the unit in memory of
one of their founder members, Barbara
Hinton who was cared for by the unit, and
since then through the hard work of
various teams each year, another local
charity has been adopted, The Juniper
Centre in Christchurch which is a day
centre for adults with learning
difficulties. The Players also
support the Priory House Trust at
Christchurch, and in previous years they
have supported St John’s Ambulance
and The Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Ever
since the Players were formed they have
always tried to give back to the
community that supports them and so far
they have donated over £60,000 to many
local charities since 1988. With
the ever-increasing cost of mounting such
a production, the Players are always
looking for sponsors to help them either
in a large or small way such as
sponsoring a costume or becoming a Friend
of the Company. Help to keep this company
in existence from as little as £12.00 a
year. If you would like further
details of these schemes please write to
Friends of BSP, 33 Tincleton Gardens,
Bournemouth, BH9 3RD or E-mail them:
E-mail: bsp75@btinternet.com
Web-site: www.bshakespearep.btinternet.co.uk
In 1996, the company
was proud to announce that Dame Judi
Dench had kindly agreed to be their
President and the long and happy
association continues with regular
messages of support for the company's
ventures both written and in person.
The Players hope
that their audience will continue with
their support and increase in numbers and
the new team look forward to seeing you
all during the run. The support of
the general public will ensure their
continued help to the Priory House Trust
in their constant task of restoring the
house and to the Macmillan Unit and The
Juniper Centre and also help other local
charities and further their presentation
of Shakespeare in this unique historical
setting which has been their summer home
since 1978
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