The State Europe School Berlin (SESB) was very happy to take part in the celebrations to commemorate Schiller’s 250th anniversary, which took place at the Schiller Gymnasium on Tuesday, 09.11.2009.   The 9EU2 took the opportunity to try out our newly renovated Aula by staging a bilingual production of MacBeth in less than 10 minutes.  This gave them the chance to illustrate the principles of the SESB in forming a bridge between two cultures, which has been one of our leading aims in our 10 years at Schiller.

MacBeth was ideal for this purpose, as Schiller translated it from Shakespeare’s version.  This production was developed from a cooperation between the teachers of German (Frau Webers) and English (Dr. Baker).

With four MacBeths and six lady MacBeths standing in a semicircle, 9EU2 explored the greed for power and the loss of moral inhibitions to obtain their supremacy, using Shakespeare’s speeches and their respective translations by Schiller.

However, the mental strain set up by this lack of scruples caused the destruction of not only their own individuality but also of the surrounding order. Only through the reestablishment of the king-giving graces could the natural order be reestablished.

The 9EU2 reinforced their message using a multimedia presentation, beaming key double phrases such as Blood/Blut onto the minimalist set, which the cast repeated in chorus. The shift between phases was underlined by the choice of appropriate music from Mozart, the Pascals and Elgar.  The production was warmly received by the audience.

Amanda Baker