‘Great Wentwood to high Usk Castle came’ recently when Usk Castle Pageant staged this year’s offering of Let’s Murder Macbeth in the magical surroundings of Usk Castle.

Despite the weather, audiences flocked to watch the show which ran for three nights at the Castle.

‘The weather could have been kinder,’ said David Collard, Chairman of Usk Castle Pageant, ‘But we were delighted that people still turned out to support us. It takes a year of hard work by the committee and four months of rehearsal by the cast to produce our plays so it’s very gratifying when people enjoy it so much.’ This year’s production, the story of a village’s attempt to stage Shakespeare’s Macbeth, was received enthusiastically by audiences, who braved the dreary weather to watch the play in the castle.

‘You can’t better our scenery,’ laughed David. ‘Where better to stage Macbeth than in a genuine castle? We’re fortunate to be able to use the castle for our shows. It’s marvellous seeing the audiences enjoying their picnics and wine during the play – everyone appreciates such an opportunity, even if the weather wasn’t perfect most of the time. We were delighted with our new sound operators too, which enabled everyone, no matter where they were sitting, to hear everything with crystal clarity – particularly important when there is a lot of comedy in a show.’ Director Ann Llewellin was delighted with the end result of those months of rehearsal.

‘It was very complicated to stage,’ she explained, ‘as it was about a local amateur dramatic society’s attempt to produce Macbeth, but using two directors with opposing ideas, including some startling new age interpretations! Lots of ‘group hugs’ and ‘conflict resolution’. This produced plenty of comedy, enhanced by back-stage scenes, and the village had to cast several Macbeths as ‘accidents’ kept happening. The brilliant music and songs by Richard Kubiak added enormously to the fun. The audiences certainly seemed to enjoy the comedy.’ The committee is already looking forward to next year’s show which will once again be produced in Usk Castle sometime in the summer.

‘Perhaps we ought to look back at weather reports and see just which is consistently the warmest and driest weekend of the year,’ joked David. ‘It might even turn out to be in January!’ Whenever it’s held, it’s certain that audiences will once again enjoy a high quality show in wonderful surroundings.