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| Rock prepares for Mac attack |
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Stand by for some scary stuff … something wicked is on its way to Gibraltar. The notorious Scottish Play - Macbeth - gets the Shakespeare 4 Kidz treatment and the child-friendly musical version will play the John Mackintosh Hall for two shows daily from June 8 – 11. This will be the company’s third visit to the Rock, following hit tours with The Tempest in 2008 and Romeo and Juliet in 2009. A total of 3,500 pupils are expected to see the show, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture Gibraltar as well as the Bonita Trust WE CARE project and the John Mackintosh Educational Trust. Macbeth is full of weird witches and spooky spells that make Harry Potter and his friends look like amateurs. There are bloody battles, gruesome ghosts and even a forest which moves. Because many theatre folk believe the play to be jinxed lots of celebrities have sent the company good luck wishes, including Stephen Fry, comedian Joe Pasquale, Star Wars veteran Dave “Darth Vader” Prowse and West End actor and movie star Jonathan Pryce, who had his own bad luck stories to tell after playing Macbeth. “When I played him in Stratford, before the first night Lady Macbeth had an accident and fractured her collar bone. I fell head first down the stairs on stage and for the first time forgot my lines in the middle of a soliloquy. At the Barbican I got stuck in the lift with the three witches and was rescued just in time to make my reappearance.” The show had a brilliant tour of the UK and the company made a triumphant return to the Gulf this spring, playing to sell-out houses in Dubai. There was just one unlucky glitch: on Friday November 13 (note the date!) when an entire audience had to be evacuated during a matinee because a stage effect set off a fire alarm. Apart from that the show has had a fantastic tour, garnering praise from pupils, teachers, parents and critics alike. Shakespeare 4 Kidz plays use the most famous lines from the original texts, weave them into modern language, add some songs and dances into the mix and the result is a two hour entertainment which everyone – even the youngest primary kids – can understand. The whole plot is retained and all the major characters are there too, to tell the blood-soaked story of the murderous Scottish warrior who, egged on by the prophecies of three weird witches and the ambitions of his evil wife, removes every obstacle in his path until he can seize the throne for himself. Jason Lee Scott leads the 14-strong company as a mesmerising Macbeth with Claire Marlowe as his devilish wife. Stephen McGlynn plays Banquo with Antony Stuart-Hicks as the doomed King Duncan. Perennial favourite Noel Andrew Harron (such a hit with audiences as Mercutio in last year's Romeo and Juliet) is the castle porter, the character everyone loves because of his terrible knock knock jokes. S4K’s founder and chief executive Julian Chenery, who wrote and directed this version of Macbeth, is looking forward to giving a masterclass to secondary school students covering a range of topics from the play’s characters and themes to what especially interests him as a director. There will be tips on how to perform Shakespeare and how to excel at auditions and some of the cast will join him for a question and answer session. Ends NOTE TO EDITORS Further information and hi-res images may be found on our marketing page at http://www.shakespeare4kidz.com/marketing Shakespeare 4 Kidz creator, producer and director Julian Chenery, the cast and production team are available for interviews. Please contact: Shakespeare 4 Kidz Drewshearne Barn, Crowhurst Lane End, Oxted, Surrey RH8 9NT Tel: 01342 894548 Fax: 01342 893754 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| What they say about us: |
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S4K DREAM: "Having just returned this afternoon from a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Palace Theatre in Manchester I would like to congratulate you on another superb production. the children in my class thoroughly enjoyed themselves and much laughter was had by all. A few years ago I saw your production of Macbeth which was equally outstanding if not even better!" |
