‘Macbeth’ big task for Court

Press, 10 March 1982, Page 3

‘Macbeth’ big task for Court

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FELICITY PRICE

Set builders at the Court Theatre have been working in round-the-clock shifts since midnight on Saturday to get the ambitious “Macbeth” set ready for rehearsals today. With opening night for the Court Theatre’s biggest production only four days away, everything has to go with military precision, according to the ‘ producer, Elric Hooper. - “We stripped the set of the Moliere play as soon as it finished its season on Saturday night, and by midnight, the stage was bare,” be said yesterday, raising his voice to be heard above the din of hammering. “Since then, there have been two parties of four working eight-hour shifts around the clock on the set for ‘Macbeth’. Meals are being provided by the women of the Court Theatre supporters’ group at eight-hourly intervals to keep them going.” ... The $3OOO set is the most ambitious and the most expensive attempted yet by theatre staff. So far, sets have cost up to $lOOO. Much of the extra cost has come from the steel struts being used to prop up the raised stage, with is platforms and steep ramp. But the steel struts are adjustable and , detachable and i therefore can be used again. “This set has got everthing that opens and shuts,” Mr Hooper said. Some parts of the stage can rise and fall, and at the back, there is a wall which can swing open. Designed by Simon Allison, the set is complicated in construction but simple in effect. “We have tried to elimi-

nate everything that gets in the way of the play and to achieve a very simple effect,” Mr Hooper said. Simple it may be, but cheap it is not. The set, the costumes, props, actors’ fees, and other expenses, Mr Hooper estimates, will come to about $75,090, making “Macbeth” the most expensive production by the Court Theatre. It is also the biggest with a cast of 21 actors, all of them on full-time wages. “It’s the biggest cast we have ever had. The next biggest was “Hamlet,” which bad 18 actors, but not all of them were on full-time pay,” Mr Hooper said. In stark constrast with the grey, painted set are the black costumes, designed by Murree Hutchinson. Although certain dramatic moments are highligthed with splashes of blood-red and gold, most of the costumes are plain black, relieved only occasionally with wisps of grey or white. Mr Hutchinson and Mr Hooper worked together four years ago on a production of “Macbeth” for the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin, and have borrowed the costumes for this production. “They cost $2OO each, and that was four years ago. They are absolutely magnificent,” Mr Hooper said. All of the black , woollen costumes however, have had to be remodelled, either to fit the form of the different actors and actresses, or to fit in with the particular demands of this production. The women of the wardrobe department have been working on the costumes full time for the last six weeks. Yesterday they were being tried on by the cast for fit and feel.