There will be villainy afoot, sword play, deception, superstition and treachery as Shakespeare in the Park celebrates their eighth year by presenting “ the Scottish play” this summer in Galt Gardens.
 “Macbeth” opens Thursday, July 4 and runs until Aug. 9 pretty much every Thursday and Friday in Galt Gardens except July 12 during Street Wheelers weekend when the local Shakespeare troupe hits the road for a performance at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, July 12. They also return to Nanton at the Coutts Centre, July 21, and, new for the troupe,  are in High River at Town Centre, July 27.
“ That will be a busy week for us,” said producer Kate Connolly, who is delighted director Monique Danielle has set Macbeth will be set in the eleventh century.

“It’s a very traditional version. It is the period Shakespeare drew from to write the play and when the actual Lord Macbeth lived,” Connolly continued, noting it is a departure from forays into the future with last year’s interplanetary space themed Tempest and the recent past of A Comedy of Errors which was set in nineteenth century Alberta.
“It’s going to be very exciting,” she said the cast have undergone extensive fight training to ensure  fight, murder and  duels are as realistic looking as possible while also being safe  as possible .
“We are lucky to have two really talented fight choreographers Garrett Mallory Scott who choreographed all of the fights and he appointed Keith Miller as fight captain, who also plays MacDuff,” she said.

“ It’s set amongst the gloomy castles and haunted heaths of Scotland where Macbeth meets the three witches, It depicts the raw brutality of the age. It’s very exciting. But it’s appropriate for all ages. there’s blood and gore, but no adult language or suggestive scenes,” Connolly advised.

 She noted Shakespeare and  the Park has received generous assistance from a variety of sponsors including Young Insurance,  a Heart of the City Activity grant and Jaded Body Arts as well as  the Allied Arts Council.
The cast features some Shakespeare in the Park veterans as well and several newcomers playing some of Shakespeare’s most iconic roles.

 DJ Gellatly is excited to return to the fold as Macbeth. He has performed in three Shakespeare in the Park productions and directed two others.

He is honoured to play Macbeth.
“A lot of very talented men have played Macbeth, so it really is fun to step into those shoes. It really is an honour,” Gellatly said, noting Macbeth starts out an honourable man, but is seduced by power inspired by the three witches and slowly descends into violence and madness.
“It is very relatable the way Macbeth is seduced by power. Banquo starts out as his companion and friend, but Macbeth really goes to some really dark places inspired by that greed and desire for power,” Gellatly said.

“So it has been really interesting to go there,” he said.
“I hope the audience comes away from the show being entertained,” he said, adding he has been enjoying the sword fighting battles.

Director Monique Danielle returns home to Lethbridge from Toronto, where she has been studying and acting, to direct Macbeth.
 She is excited to set the play in the eleventh century.
“ The board wanted to do a traditional Shakespeare play and Macbeth has always been one of my favourite plays. So I just love that it is set in the eleventh century which is where Shakespeare drew his inspiration from. It’s just such a cool time period,” she said, adding she wanted to bring out the themes of masculinity and gender roles, parenthood and power in the play. She also wanted to explore the theme of  feminine power with Lady Macbeth and the three witches.
“Lady Macbeth is a powerful female character,  she questions Macbeth’s masculinity, but she gives up her femininity for more masculine traits to get power,” she said.
“So I wanted to explore some of those themes,” she said, adding the witches exemplify the female empowerment theme.
“ I was interested in their motivation. So I’ve turned them into Greek fates who are angry about being forgotten as  people were turning to worship God and Christianity, so I wanted to play with that idea of female rage,” Danielle said.

 The three witches are all new to Shakespeare in the Park.
 Megan Fennell, who plays Clotho (witch 2) said she was dared into auditioning by her friend.
“I’ve been trying to do things that scare me this year like petting a snake and singing karaoke for the first time. So my friend dared me to audition,” said Fennell, who is also a dancer, a Taiko drummer, a science fiction author and an artist who is also an artist.