Blood and Death: How South Stage Lives up to the Violence of Macbeth

By Gil Alon
Arts Reporter

In an attempt to bring something new to the stage, South Stage’s and Theater Ink’s upcoming production of Macbeth will feature the one-thousand-year-old art of sword fighting.

More commonly referred to as stage combat, the goal of sword fighting is to create the illusion that the characters are violently attacking each other, all the while maintaining a safe environment for the actors. This technique immerses viewers in the world of the play and heightens the intensity of the violence, something that is incredibly important in Macbeth, a Shakespearean tragedy in which a renowned Scottish general tries to become king by any means necessary.

But using stage combat effectively is no easy feat. Any show looking to utilize stage combat techniques requires a fight director, someone who has been trained to teach stage combat and can ensure that the actors will go onstage confident in their choreography.

“The technical director, Bryant Cyr, as well as the technical director at Newton North, are both trained fight choreographers,” co-director Victoria Perkinson said. “You should never allow someone who is not a trained and certified fight director to choreograph fights and battles of this size.”

Using over fifteen different types of weapons and gallons of blood, the actors of Macbeth have put many hours into perfecting their battles.

“It has taken a lot of time to incorporate the combat into the show,” Perkinson said. “For every ten seconds of combat, one typically needs an hour of rehearsal. The large battle sequences have been particularly time-consuming since there are so many moving parts to them.”

Seizing this unique opportunity, the directors decided to increase the number of fight scenes in the show, heightening the drama.

“South Stage often uses stage combat in plays if that’s part of the story, but we’ve never had combat on this level before,” co-director Jeff Knoedler said. “This production will not only include the violence in Shakespeare’s play, but we’ve added a combat prologue that shows how Macbeth distinguishes himself in battle before the action of the play.”

Although learning combat skills can be challenging, stage combat is surprisingly similar to any other form of choreographed movement.

“It’s similar to dance choreography for a musical,” Knoedler said. “An actor learns movements with a partner. It just happens to be with a dangerous weapon.”

When executed well, stage combat can engage the audience and add a healthy dose of reality to a production.

Check out the attached video for a look at the cast of Macbeth learning their choreography and see the show May 28-30 to witness the intense fight scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Uz_NvSTsU&feature=youtu.be