Bryan Forbes

[Hugo]

"BF devotes a whole chapter in his bio to the Macbeth debacle"

Timothy West also devotes a whole chapter of his bio "A Moment Towards the End of the Play....." (Chapter 25) to the Macbeth production and very instructive and hilarious it is too, particularly the account of the experimental inflatable set that O'Toole tried to foist on the production.

[batman]

I had the great fortune to see that production ..... absolutely hilarious! It's a real shame no one recorded it, the ycould make a fortune.

Bats.

[Windthrop]

Originally Posted by batman I had the great fortune to see that production ..... absolutely hilarious! It's a real shame no one recorded it, the ycould make a fortune. Bats.

According to BF it was a commercial success, which with classical theatre is some achievement.

[batman]

Originally Posted by Windthrop According to BF it was a commercial success, which with classical theatre is some achievement.

The night I went it was packed .... about half way through an emergency vehicle went past with sirens blasting .... O'Toole just cracked up and had to go off stage to compose himself!

The free publicity the play received. mostly negative, must have intrigued many theatre-goers. With hindsight (I hadn't seen any of his films at that time) it was almost like Tod Slaughter does Shakespeare.

Bats.

[Windthrop]

Originally Posted by batman The night I went it was packed .... about half way through an emergency vehicle went past with sirens blasting .... O'Toole just cracked up and had to go off stage to compose himself! The free publicity the play received. mostly negative, must have intrigued many theatre-goers. With hindsight (I hadn't seen any of his films at that time) it was almost like Tod Slaughter does Shakespeare. Bats.

It could have been worse - during the 70s the starry-eyed producer Duncan C. Weldon attempted to get Clint Eastwood to play Hamlet in the west end (sic). Another more recent example of attempted silly casting was when Frank Bruno was offered Othello ! - I never did find out whether Harry Carpenter was offered Iago

[batman]

Originally Posted by Windthrop It could have been worse - during the 70s the starry-eyed producer Duncan C. Weldon attempted to get Clint Eastwood to play Hamlet in the west end (sic). Another more recent example of attempted silly casting was when Frank Bruno was offered Othello ! - I never did find out whether Harry Carpenter was offered Iago

''To be or not to be .... punk!''

Bats.

[dremble wedge]

Originally Posted by Windthrop It could have been worse - during the 70s the starry-eyed producer Duncan C. Weldon attempted to get Clint Eastwood to play Hamlet in the west end

Mind you Zeffirelli casting Mel Gibson as the Dane seemed perplexing at the time...

[batman]

Originally Posted by dremble wedge Mind you Zeffirelli casting Mel Gibson as the Dane seemed perplexing at the time...

I enjoyed that version, and Gibson wasn't too bad.

Bats.

[christoph404]

Originally Posted by batman I enjoyed that version, and Gibson wasn't too bad. Bats.

I agree, he had a pretty good stab at the part and was good in it. I am fond of the film because much of it was shot in Scotland and the main Elsinore location was Dunnoter Castle, 15 miles south of Aberdeen.

[Windthrop]

Originally Posted by batman I enjoyed that version, and Gibson wasn't too bad. Bats.

It ain't bad at all. Bates was fine as Claudius and Stephen Dillane was superb as Horatio (later saw him as Hamlet on stage). I wasn't mad on Ian Holm as Polonius (my favorite character) and think someone like Donald Sinden or David Ryall would have done better IMHO (saw them in the role on the boards and thought them superb).

[Geoffers]

Originally Posted by rskershaw I don't think Timothy West suffers fools gladly, so it must have been a stinker. Does a recording exist? Can't see anything on the retail sites. Did any members see it?

My brother designed the sound for that show. I remember he told me that the music included snippets from the soundtracks of films Bryan had directed. I don't know what he thought of the finished production but he did say he enjoyed a magnificent meal cooked by Nanette! I tried to see it but it was sold out.

[stevie boy]

Mr. Forbes, what a cast on the League of Gentlemen. I would imagine you all had a lot of fun, did you??. Was this the most entertaining cast that you were involved with and did you all get to have a night out socially while filming???

[jacobean]

I had the great fortune to see that production ..... absolutely hilarious!

I read in a biography of O'Toole that the production of MacBeth was reported by the critics as so bad that loads of people went to see just how bad it was - a bit like Crossroads.

I think one scene which brought the house down was when the O'Toole's character murdered someone. I can't remember whether there were screams offstage whilst the death took place, but O'Toole then came on covered from head to foot in fake blood. After what seemed like ages wandering around the set, he announced without irony and with typical understatement, 'It is done'

[batman]

Originally Posted by jacobean I think one scene which brought the house down was when the O'Toole's character murdered someone. I can't remember whether there were screams offstage whilst the death took place, but O'Toole then came on covered from head to foot in fake blood. After what seemed like ages wandering around the set, he announced without irony and with typical understatement, 'It is done'

Yep .... that's about right. I also remember an actor playing a guard rushing around the stage shouting 'What ho, here comes the king' for what seemed like an eternity, and then tripping over his feet and falling flat on his face. The actor who helped him up was shaking with laughter!

Bats.

[suzepulcheria]

Originally Posted by batman I had the great fortune to see that production ..... absolutely hilarious! It's a real shame no one recorded it, the ycould make a fortune. Bats.

I saw it too. My abiding memory is that P O'T carried a (?wooden) sword that was too big and too heavy for him in his tired and emotional (I assumed) state. Every time he lifted it he staggered about and practically fell into the pit. My recollection is that he did actually fall into the pit but I expect that is just an embellished memory- wishful thinking!