The death of legendary Hollywood actor Charlton Heston last weekend brought back memories of his performances in Bermuda during the 1950s, the most celebrated of which was his title role in Shakespeare's tragedy, 'Macbeth'.

Staged at Fort St. Catherine from August 24 to September 5, opening night got the 1953 Bermuda Theatre Festival off to a glittering start, despite the fact that Mr. Heston had come off his Mobylette at Coot Pond the night before, injuring his jaw and leg.

News of the accident apparently was greeted with relief by the 40-plus cast because thespians traditionally believe that tragedy of some kind befalls each production of the Shakespeare classic, so Mr. Heston's mishap was seen as getting it over with. Even so, a heavy thunder shower almost postponed opening night.

Co-produced by Canadian actor Bruce Yorke and businessman and Bermuda resident Stanhope Joell, 'Macbeth' was directed by veteran US actor Burgess Meredith, who was also active in the then-Bermudiana Theatre.

Nancy Marchand played opposite Mr. Heston as Lady Macbeth.

The East End fort, with its thick walls, ramparts, towering turrets and walks at different levels, made a spectacular setting for the open air production, allowing scenes and events just hinted at in Shakespeare's text to be depicted.

Mr. Meredith's staging was hailed for its imagination and ingenuity. Cleverly contrived entrances and exits, blackouts,'dissolves' and general lighting effects replaced traditional stage curtains and scene changes to great effect, and The Royal Gazette reporter Frank Haworth described Mr. Heston as "a physically magnificent Macbeth".

"From his horse-back entry to his overthrow at the hands of MacDuff, he dominates the scene," he wrote.

"His reading is somewhat unconventional here and there, but entirely legitimate and completely successful – evidently the outcome of much careful study and deep thought.

"His interpretation is exciting and moving. His portrayal of the effects of temptation on a basically weak character, the degeneration of Macbeth's mind and soul as he advances in wickedness, the change of his high ambition to weariness and cynicism, and growing despair and terror, is brilliantly done."

In her write-up in The Bermudian magazine, Nancy Lyons concurred, saying the leading actor had "dominated the production physically and emotionally".

"His swift way of moving, his restless strength brought the necessary force to the murdering of Duncan.

'Heston's portrayal of the break-up of Macbeth's character following the murder, his gradual decay from ambition to despair, was magnificent."

Prior to opening night, Mr. Heston reportedly spent 14 hours a day with Mr. Burgess, rehearsing the role he had performed twice before, in a stock production and on television. Elsewhere, 'Macbeth' was described as the actor's "pet project and life-work".

In addition to the professional actors, the large cast also included Bermudians, among them Paul Leseur, John Kaufmann and Michael Caton, all of whom were 16 to 18 years old at the time.

"Charlton Heston was fantastic – full of encouragement, courteous to everyone, and generally a very nice gentleman. We were all very impressed with his performance," Mr. Caton remembers. "There were probably 15 or 20 of us young people. It was very exciting, and a wonderful experience for us, it really was."

Cast as a soldier to swordfight on the ramparts, Mr. Caton says he was "taught properly" how to swordfight.

It was thanks to Mr. Kaufmann's mother, Jeannette (Lodi), that the young Bermudians found themselves in 'Macbeth' through the link between her Friday Night Club (a weekly gathering for young people) and the Bermudiana Theatre.

While he had no aspirations to become a thespian, Mr. Caton laughingly confesses that, like many young men of his generation, it was well known that girls liked theatre, so boys gravitated to places where they could be found in numbers. One thing led to another, and 'Macbeth' was perhaps his zenith.

Another 'extra' with happy memories is Paul Leseur who was 15 at the time. His dual roles were as Mr. Heston's 'page' and personal dresser.

"I had to ensure that he was in the right uniform in the right place at the right time," he says.

"It was very, very interesting and very well done. In fact I have, and still use to this day, a silver money clip which Mr. Heston gave me. It is inscribed, 'Paul from Chuck, Macbeth 1953'.

"There was a whole group of us from the Friday Night Club in the show as extras, including my brother John, Michael's sister Elizabeth, John Kaufmann's sister Brenda... In fact, John did a lot of the set and lighting. When my parents came to see my brother and I in the show, they didn't recognise us in our costumes and make-up, even though we were standing right in front of them!"

Meanwhile, on the corner of Church Street and Par-la-Ville Road, the original Buckaroo, which stayed open until 2.30 a.m., received nightly visits from Mr. Heston, where the (now late) owner, David Cauchi, remembered him as being "so big he had to bend down when he came in the door. He liked a drink."

Bermuda Online records that the Oscar-winning actor also appeared in two repertory productions at the Bermudiana Theatre – 'Born Yesterday' and the lead role 'Bell, Book and Candle'. Originally co-founded by Constance Bainbridge and Mr. Yorke, on dissolution of that partnership, Mr. Yorke took over, putting on a new play each week for 10 months of the year until 1955, during which many famous visiting actors and actresses appeared, as well as Bermudians and Bermuda residents, among them the late Elsbeth and Don Gibson, Arthur Cooper and Jane Hartley. During its existence, Mr. Joell was an "angel" who helped to keep the theatre going.