Dominic Cooke production 2004

Other videos in this series

• Dominic Cooke - Setting this scene

  Director Dominic Cooke discusses how he 'sets the scene' in this extract, allowing the audience to see what Lady Macbeth's life is like when Macbeth isn't there.

• Sian Thomas - What is Lady Macbeth asking?

  What is Lady Macbeth asking for in this extract when she says, 'Unsex me here'?

  'She's an amateur,' says actor Sian Thomas, who plays her. In this clip, Sian explains that who Lady Macbeth is appealing to in this extract isn't made clear, but her intentions are the same as when any of us appeals for help to make us stronger than we feel.

• Greg Hicks - Why doesn't Lady Macbeth let him kiss her?

  In this production, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth greet each other with a kiss at the start of this scene. But later on in these extracts, she refuses to let him kiss her. Why? Greg Hicks explains how this moment arose in rehearsals and demonstrates Lady Macbeth's dominance over her husband from this point onwards.

• Sian Thomas - Can we see what Macbeth's thinking?

  Lady Macbeth says, 'Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters.'

  Actor Sian Thomas, who plays Lady Macbeth, explains how Macbeth can't hide this feelings and she thinks that this is one of the reasons that Lady Macbeth loves him.

• Greg Hicks - Could Macbeth have become king without the murders?

  Could Macbeth have become king in another way? Greg Hicks discusses this 'spiritual conundrum'.

• Robert Innes Hopkins - The set design

  Robert Innes Hopkins, designer of this production of Macbeth, uses the model box to explain the set design which we see in these extracts.

  For the RSC's 2004 Tragedies season, there was an overall design for the shape of the RST stage which had a straight front edge. Each of the three productions had to fit its design to this overall shape.

  For Macbeth, this stage shape with its square feel, contributed to the blunt masculine strength of the play. The designer of any production needs to consider practicalities like exits and entrances, how the action will work and more abstract issues such as the use of texture or colour to create atmosphere. In this production, Robert Innes Hopkins used a dark-grey tone to create a feeling of harshness.

  Most designers create a model box for the production - a 1:25 scale model which helps to inform the workshop team as they manufacture the set. The model box is also an essential tool enabling the designer and director to communicate ideas easily so the design will support and enhance the action.