Ambition, power and usurped authority are some of the themes explored in the latest dramatic production performed by Warwick Academy students. As its contribution to Bermuda's 400th anniversary celebrations, Warwick Academy is presenting an abridged version of Shakepeare's Macbeth on April 24 and 25 in the Phoebe Purvis Memorial Hall.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. The play opens with three evil witches' supernatural prophecies about the great general Macbeth. On Macbeth's victorious return from war, the Scottish king, Duncan, confers the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, and another general, Banquo, cross paths with the three witches who predict that Macbeth will one day become king.

Provoked by his devious wife and by ambition, Macbeth slaughters King Duncan to assume the throne. Lady Macbeth smears Duncan's blood on the daggers of the sleeping guards to frame them. Macbeth then kills the guards, insisting that their bloody daggers are proof of their guilt. Duncan's sons flee, and the crown passes to Macbeth.

To cover his crimes, Macbeth continues on a murder spree creating a path to self-destruction. The bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to accuse Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's conscience begins to torture her, and because she cannot live with her demons, she commits suicide. The haunted Macbeth fights to prevent another dark forecast, taking a last stand against Duncan's son Malcolm and the Scottish nobility.

While the play is a GCSE text, actors are from a wide range of year levels, including two primary students: India Wilson plays Banquo's son Fleance while Philip Mathias takes on the role of MacDuff's young son, ruthlessly slaughtered at Macbeth's command in a futile attempt to eliminate dissent.

Already a veteran of the stage despite her young age, having performed in the recent production of The Railway Children, India Wilson is an enthusiastic member of the cast. "This is my first Shakespeare play," she noted, "and I'm very happy that it is Macbeth.

"It is very serious and has lots of fight scenes. I get to be in two of them, which is just so much fun! It is really great experience."

Equally enthusiastic is Rowan Vickers, taking on the title role. "Portraying the role of Macbeth and getting inside his head has been a challenging, yet interesting experience," he said. "Having been in a production of Macbeth at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 2004, to be performing in it again has been very enjoyable, thrilling and exciting."

Though the set is stark and modern, with industrial scaffolding rendering crenellated towers and draughty halls, the action is presented in its mediaeval Scottish setting. The costumes created by two parents, Mandy Roberts and Sarah Oatley, interpret the fashions of the times, and military equipment – stage combat broadswords and dirks – were especially imported from the States for the production.

While the slow disintegration of Lady Macbeth (played by Claudia Hall) and Macbeth's descent into madness are powerful portrayals of psychosis, other elements of the play are highly dramatic and exciting - particularly the battle scenes.

Fight sequences have been carefully choreographed by director Matt McGowan, and required extensive practice, with the students giving up their weekends and evenings in order to perfect their skills.

Andreas Ratterary, who plays Angus, noted, "Having been in Warwick's production of Henry V, I am really excited to be in Macbeth. Mr. McGowan had a really good idea of how dramatic he wanted this production to be and it is really going to be awesome! The new combat swords are really great; heavy, but they look the part!"

And the witches add a weird and wonderful element to the action. "The coven of witches are on the stage almost the whole time, and they really add a really dramatic, eerie feel to the whole show. It is really fun being a part of it," First Witch Chelsea Burgess declared.

n Tickets for the two productions, which begin at 7 p.m., are available from the school office and can be ordered by telephoning 236-1917