It's said that William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a cursed play, but with rain postponing opening night, Burro’d Theatre’s production of the famous drama is underway with two showings in the books and more to come.
Opening night was to be this past Wednesday, but (spoiler alert) shortly after Duncan was killed the skies opened up and soaked the stage, causing the performance to be halted until the following night.
Thursday was brilliant and went off without a hitch. If you’ve seen Macbeth you know how it goes; if not, you need to get to 61 Park St., for one of the five performances left. There are actually six performances, but Saturday’s show has been sold out for a while.
Marissa Caldwell, who does a great job portraying Lady Macbeth, told BarrieToday she's very happy with how the community rallies around Burro’d Theatre and the plays they put on.
Last year’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a fair contrast to the Scottish tragedy being performed this year, but Caldwell loves that people are still packing the aisles like they did last year.
“We’re very flattered and amazed at the response from the people who have come out, but truthfully, we believed the Barrie community had it in them to be so supportive,” said Caldwell. “We weren’t sure how the first year would go but it was such a fun play to do with humour and magic, and now people still came out to see Macbeth with it’s violence, deceit and murder.”
Caldwell and her fiancée, Iain Moggach, who plays Macbeth, were the producers of the play and also live at the property that served as the location.
Playing the married king and queen will have some truth to it six days after the last show-night as the two will say their vows to each other on Saturday, Sept. 14.
But for now, Caldwell says, they were excited to play the famous duo on stage.
“I’ve always wanted to play Lady Macbeth and Iain has always wanted to swing the bat at Macbeth. You can see his eyes light up every time he gets to swing that huge staff and its like the face is acting but the eyes are having a great time,” said Caldwell.
“Its so cliché and so over-said, but we do feel very blessed and lucky to be able to do what we do and have a community who backs us up all the time," she added.
Unlike last year’s show, where all seats faced the back of the stage, Macbeth has surround seating, with chairs down the side of the stage as well, putting the audience in the thick of the fighting.
City councillor Keenan Aylwin was one of those in attendance on Thursday. He told BarrieToday he's no stranger to the play and it took him back to when he performed as the doomed king.
“In Grade 8 at Prince of Wales Public School, I played Macbeth in our school’s version of the Shakespeare classic,” recalled Aylwin. “It was such an amazing experience and I learned so much about Shakespeare in the process.
"This production of Macbeth really brought me back to that moment as it was fantastic and beautifully creative," he added. "Having a backyard as the venue made the play come alive and created a lovely community-feel.
"Everyone who studied in our school system has their own, personal connection to Shakespeare and I think that’s what makes this so universally enjoyable.”
Aylwin said that community theatre is vital in uniting the people in the city and admires what Caldwell and Moggach are doing.
“Iain and Marissa have created something very special,” said Aylwin. “This theatre initiative is bringing the community together in such a simple, yet beautiful way and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for next year. “
While tonight’s show is sold out, tickets are available for the rest of the performances at this website.
