Royal Shakespeare Company: Notes on Macbeth
Nature, Environment + Staging
● witches are figureheads of nature - associated with creating natural chaos
● created the front of the stage as the place holding the stage up + creating a point of
tension - literally
Marginalized Power
● looked at the power of agency or lack of agency for women within the play - through
the natural order
● witches are symbols of an older power + power of nature - wanted them placed
more centrally within the action
● Malcolm welcomes the witches + women who are faceless into his reign - a sense of
new growth + beginnings
Corruption of Power + Leadership
● theme of ambition + power - journey of how someone with hugely positive qualities -
commits acts of violence to gain power
● making audience invest in Macbeth - loyal + successful soldier, tender husband +
loyal to his country - allows audience to meet that Macbeth first
● Malcolm - one of the youngest characters in the play - expresses honesty + human
anxieties - whether he’s qualified enough to be King - what makes a good leader?
● wants audience to have a conversation about what power is + what we want from
our leaders
Witches + Power
● witches weren’t born with these powers - they are ostracized, different, speak up,
are smart - rebel against patriarchy - patriarchy is scared of them
● witches find power in being outside of the structure of patriarchy - three of them -
the power is concentrated
● servants in castles also experience a type of ostracization - to a lesser extent -
haven’t been pushed out - still live within that world
● LM cannot function within a patriarchal society - isn’t allowed because she’s
dangerous + different
● called “fiend-like” - hasn’t gone insane + killed herself - unable to get any power -
more like she’s becoming a witch - “Out damned spot” - mirrors witches lexis
Nature, Environment + Staging
● witches are figureheads of nature - associated with creating natural chaos
● created the front of the stage as the place holding the stage up + creating a point of
tension - literally
Marginalized Power
● looked at the power of agency or lack of agency for women within the play - through
the natural order
● witches are symbols of an older power + power of nature - wanted them placed
more centrally within the action
● Malcolm welcomes the witches + women who are faceless into his reign - a sense of
new growth + beginnings
Corruption of Power + Leadership
● theme of ambition + power - journey of how someone with hugely positive qualities -
commits acts of violence to gain power
● making audience invest in Macbeth - loyal + successful soldier, tender husband +
loyal to his country - allows audience to meet that Macbeth first
● Malcolm - one of the youngest characters in the play - expresses honesty + human
anxieties - whether he’s qualified enough to be King - what makes a good leader?
● wants audience to have a conversation about what power is + what we want from
our leaders
Witches + Power
● witches weren’t born with these powers - they are ostracized, different, speak up,
are smart - rebel against patriarchy - patriarchy is scared of them
● witches find power in being outside of the structure of patriarchy - three of them -
the power is concentrated
● servants in castles also experience a type of ostracization - to a lesser extent -
haven’t been pushed out - still live within that world
● LM cannot function within a patriarchal society - isn’t allowed because she’s
dangerous + different
● called “fiend-like” - hasn’t gone insane + killed herself - unable to get any power -
more like she’s becoming a witch - “Out damned spot” - mirrors witches lexis
