In this production, the Witches are played by Rhiannon Skerritt, Lucy Johnson and Victoria Clow, who say:

Rhiannon: My character was an innocent civilian killed at the hands of Macbeth in an unsolicited attack. She returns from death with her sisters to enact vengeful atonement upon Macbeth, in the hope of stopping the cycle of innocent bloodshed.

‘When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lighting or in rain?’

Lucy: In our production, the three witches begin the play as ordinary women who – during the opening scene – become victims of war. When they return to the world, the witches lay the path for Macbeth’s downfall, through magical visions and sharing knowledge of future events. They are observers of the play, who give characters the nudge (they deserve!) to show their true colours – and in doing so attempt to re-balance the world and reveal the consequences of tyranny, selfish ambition and war.

‘Fair is foul and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air’

Victoria: The witches deliver the prophecies that light the spark of ambition in Macbeth. They have a close relationship but aside from each other, they only really interact with Macbeth and Banquo. In our production, the witches are fantastical beings who can move in any way they please, including flips, tumbles and contortion. They represent the rightful vengeance and fury that those in war must feel to those in charge and, as performers, we do our best to use our bodies and skills to show this.

‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes’