Orson Welles and The Unusual Production of MacBeth
Orson Welles and The Unusual Production of MacBeth
It was March 1945.
And talented director and actor of stage, radio and film the great Orson Welles was directing a short scene from William Shakespeare’s MacBeth for an upcoming charity event.
Welles (in front of the stage): All right. Enter the three witches.
(Thunder and lightning. Enter three witches)
First Witch (lowering “her” cowl to reveal the face of Adolf Hitler- a fact which startles Orson Welles):
When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning or in rain?
Second Witch (lowering her “cowl” to reveal the face of Josef Stalin- a fact which also startles Orson Welles):
When the hurlyburly’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.
Third Witch (lowers its cowl to reveal a face wearing a mask. It speaks in a very metallic sounding voice):
That will be ere the set of sun.
(On the wall at the back of the stage are flashed images of a solar eclipse followed by a blood red moon)
First Witch (Hitler): Where the place?
Second Witch (Stalin): Upon the heath.
(A strange multicoloured spiral image is then projected on to the screen behind the stage. Orson Welles does not recognize the image on this day in March 1945 but later generations would have recognized the spiral as the double helix of DNA)
Third Witch (with mask and metallic sounding voice): There to meet with MacBeth.
(The image of a face is then projected on to the screen behind the stage)
Orson Welles (waking up in bed with a start): Great heavens!
Rita Hayworth (next to him): What is it?
Orson Welles: I just had the most terrifying dream.
Rita Hayworth: What was it?
Orson Welles (scratching his head): I can’t remember… it’s receding from my memory… but…
Rita Hayworth: But what?
Orson Welles: I have seen the future… and it’s a nightmare.
-A vampire novel chapter
written by Christopher
Tuesday March 31st
2015.
Nicholas C. Rossis said,
March 31, 2015 at 10:04 pm
All very spooky!
draculvanhelsing said,
March 31, 2015 at 11:54 pm
Thanks.
Just like Orson Welles himself was spooky in some of his radio broadcasts like The Shadow and his Mercury Theatre On The Air Broadcasts of Dracula and The War of The Worlds.
Nicholas C. Rossis said,
April 1, 2015 at 1:00 am
The Shadow knows… just how spooky he was 😀
draculvanhelsing said,
April 1, 2015 at 1:04 am
Indeed. 😀
Dracul Van Helsing said,
March 31, 2019 at 9:11 pm
Reblogged this on Dracul Van Helsing and commented:
A vampire novel chapter and blog post I wrote 4 years ago today.
David Redpath said,
March 31, 2019 at 11:44 pm
Orson needs screw his courage to the
sticking place . . . If not Rita Hayworth!😎
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 12:58 am
Very much so, David.
You know ever since I was little, Orson Welles was the Hollywood actor and director I always felt closest to.
But in those days, I hadn’t read the biography of his life in full.
And I remember the first time I saw a Rita Hayworth movie and fell in love with her and thought she was the most beautiful of the Golden Age of Hollywood actresses (which I still do), I had no idea when I first saw that film Gilda, that she had once been married to Orson Welles.
Imagine my surprise when I found out.
So three things I have in common with Orson Welles- I love Shakespeare, I love the King James Bible and I love Rita Hayworth. LOL ! 😎
David Redpath said,
April 1, 2019 at 1:19 am
. . . With touch of Rosebud🌹
And Orson did pull off the prank of the 20th.
century, apart from Scientology, with his ‘The War of the Worlds’ radio broadcast in
1938. I suspect that he knew prior that some
rednecks would believe it to be for real
The recent Hollywood attempts at Macbeth
and Othello have been awful in comparison
to Orson (try saying that 3 times 3 to three
Scottish witches) 😎
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 1:34 am
According to rumour, Rosebud was supposed to have been William Randolph Hearst’s pet name for the pussy (and we’re not talking cats) of his mistress Marion Davies.
So with Kane dying with the name of “Rosebud” on his lips, it would have been quite the Wellesian punch to Hearst’s chops.
Yes, saying that 3 times 3 to 3 Scottish witches after downing 3 times 3 large Scotch whiskeys would be quite the shibboleth challenge. 😎
David Redpath said,
April 1, 2019 at 1:46 am
I guess, better the whiskey, than downing the rosebud of three Scottish witches . . .
as implied in the 2006 Macbeth remake,
with Sam Worthington doing the honours
( by that I mean witches).
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 1:59 am
Downing the rosebud of 3 Scottish witches?
Gives a whole new meaning to
“Is this a dagger I see before me?
Come let me clutch thee…”
David Redpath said,
April 1, 2019 at 2:09 am
Yes Chris. Three’s are Clutch’, and four is a Coven.
That’s according to the ‘Druid’s Illustrated
Guide to Sex Magic’ I keep under the bed 😎
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 2:49 pm
Always a good thing to have that under the bed.
You never know when you might meet a sexy Druidic High Priestess. 😎
David Redpath said,
April 1, 2019 at 3:17 pm
It’s one of my most prized possessions.
Given to me by Queen Boudica herself!
. . . But that’s another story 😎
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 4:10 pm
It sounds like you’re a time traveler yourself, David.
David Redpath said,
April 1, 2019 at 9:06 pm
It’s a Brigadoon type thing, Dracul.
The Hollywood musical does have a shred
of truth, but the true centre of this mystical
phenomenon is bit further south, in the
county of Norfolk. In the valley of the River
Tas, near the confluence of with the Rivers
Yard and Wensum, to be precise ( a closely guarded Celtic secret 🤫).
The Romans were never able to find Queen
Boudica, or her body, after putting down her Celtic revolt. Tacitus’ story of her
drinking poiso,n to avoid capture, was
Roman propaganda … yet not too far of
the mark. The Iceni tribal Druids, to escape
Roman retribution for the massacre at
Londinium, had invoked powerful magics
to open a time space continuum. This was achieved by curving reality through the
copious consumption of a rare & mystical
fungus known only to grow where the three
sacred rivers of Norfolk meet. At the point
where the priests have achieved maximum
reality curvature (or totally bent, as we say
nowadays) they as one shout, “LET IT RIP!”.
This is when Queen Boudica, and many of
the fleeing Iceni, stepped through the
resulting portal to a quiet peaceful valley,
somewhere north of Hadrian’s Wall, where it
is forever midsummer harvest time. And,
most importantly, the secret and
sacred fungus is in plentiful supply 😎
Dracul Van Helsing said,
April 1, 2019 at 10:32 pm
Sounds magical indeed. 😎
Jessica said,
November 2, 2019 at 8:31 pm
A nice Halloween read 😁
Dracul Van Helsing said,
November 2, 2019 at 9:07 pm
Very true, Jessica. 🙂
This is a good story to read for Halloween. 🎃