Congratulations on a wonderful performance of Macbeth. It was a triumph and a testament to your hard work and commitment to your students. There were so many wonderful moments on stage, which played to the strength of the ensemble. The military look was completely inspired, it was a perfect fit for the play and the costumes were fantastic. Great use of the drum and sticks, a clear example of how incredibly disciplined your ensemble was. They managed to create atmosphere without detracting from the main action. In particular the breathing when Macbeth was in a panic was very powerful. They obviously knew the story inside out and understood their lines and therefore made the story incredibly clear to the audience. There was great characterisation, I loved this almost street edge to the witches. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seemed to find a genuine rage to play, which was all the more impressive given their age. The reaction of Macduff to the death of his family also stood out to me as something that contained raw emotion, they all did incredibly well - the piece was just brilliant.

I know SSF can add extra pressure to an already busy workload, but you enabled your cast to achieve something really impressive. I hope your cast and colleagues are proud and pleased. I would be very grateful if you could pass on my thanks and praise to all the staff and students involved.

With very best wishes

Kathleen

Festival Coordinator