Sophie Fiennes’s latest documentary offers a meditative and intelligent look at the art of acting, focusing on director Declan Donnellan as he guides actors through Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The film, which follows Cheek by Jowl’s exploratory rehearsal sessions, eschews the usual trappings of performance to delve into the creative process behind the scenes.
Set in the derelict Twyford Abbey, whose crumbling interiors evoke Inverness Castle, the documentary captures Donnellan and co-director Nick Ormerod working with eight actors. Grace Andrews, Amber James, Sophie Khan Levy and Hannah Young each take turns as Lady Macbeth, while David Burnett, Orlando James, Jonathan Livingstone and Ekow Quartey portray Macbeth. The scenes explored range from the early stages before Duncan’s murder to later soliloquies such as “Is this a dagger?”, “Unsex me here” and “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”.
Donnellan offers insights into the nature of the text, dismissing the idea that it is “code for something else” and reflecting on the stigma of over-acting by comparing it to the histrionic reactions of onlookers during 9/11. The speeches are dissected with subtlety, without great crises or debates, presenting a calm and collaborative approach to creativity.
Fiennes’s film is comparable to her 2010 study of artist Anselm Kiefer, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, but differs from her more hyperactive works like The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema. This documentary focuses solely on the rehearsal and workshopping process, omitting auditions, tech runs and nightly performances.
