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I had so much fun doing the comparison of Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" monologue a few days ago, I thought I'd do something similar with a few actresses who have played Lady Macbeth. I've chosen the famous "sleepwalking scene" as an example of how different actresses have approached this last scene in which the character appears. First, one of the finest performances of the role was from Dame Judi Dench in Trevor Nunn's production of Macbeth that was filmed in 1978. Dench is fabulous in this scene, particularly in her long, drawn out screech towards the end of the scene (beginning around the 3:20 mark in the video). This is a remarkable performance. My favorite Lady Macbeth of all the versions I've seen is probably Kate Fleetwood, who played the role in Rupert Goold's production of 2010 (the one starring Patrick Stewart as Macbeth). Fleetwood's transition from a cold, cruel woman in her earliest scenes to this neurotic, broken woman in the sleepwalking scene is amazing to see. Finally, we have the very understated performance of Marion Cotillard in the 2015 film of Macbeth. Cotillard's Lady Macbeth begins the film as a broken woman, in a non-Shakespearean scene at the beginning of the film, where she and Macbeth are burying a child. Although her performance lacks some of the power of Dench's and Fleetwood's renditions, there is a quiet beauty to her acting that has its own value. So there you have it: three very different performances of a powerful scene (perhaps one of the finest moments of any female role in all of Shakespeare). Once again, it's amazing to me how differently various actors can approach the same scene. I would love to hear from others, as to who their favorite Lady Macbeth is (or was). Thanks for reading (and watching).
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From time to time, I have enjoyed sharing a few different performances of a famous Shakespeare soliloquy, just to highlight some of the different choices actors make in their interpretations. It demonstrates some of the vast range of possibilities that are possible with Shakespeare's text. Today, I've been watching a few different approaches to the famous speech from Macbeth, that contains those haunting words: "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow/Creeps in this petty pace from day to day..." It's a dark and beautiful (and rather short) monologue, that also has the famous description of life as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." The first version I want to look at is Sir Ian McKellen, in Trevor Nunn's production from 1978: The look of distaste on McKellen's face is something that I find intriguing, and almost mesmerizing. Her looks as if he is trying not to throw up. There's a quiet menace behind every word. It's really a stunning performance. And then there's that huge pause between "signifying" and "nothing" (a word which he separates into two very distinct syllables). Tremendous. The next version of the soliloquy is from a much more recent production, starring Sir Ian's good friend Sir Patrick Stewart in the title role. It's from the production directed by Rupert Goold in 2010, a very contemporary setting, in which Macbeth is presented as a much more world weary figure. There's a great weight to everything Stewart utters in the speech. Watch and enjoy... Finally, here's Michael Fassbender in a recent film version in 2015. I don't know if Fassbender's performance quite matches the other two actors, but it's still well worth watching, i think. One bonus video that I found absolutely fascinating is this "lecture" from Ian McKellen, given just a year or so after the Trevor Nunn production. McKellen breaks down the soliloquy piece by piece. Really marvelous stuff... There you have it. A fine speech, looked at several different ways. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.
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Corybantic(adj.) wild and frenzied; from Greek κορυβαντες (Korybantes) 
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