Wyrd Sisters

Brighton Festival is over for the year, and Brighton Fringe is reaching its final weekend.

I made loads of plans this year and saw a whole heap of shows! Yesterday evening was the last one: a production of Wyrd Sisters at the Brighthelm Church & Community Centre.

The play was adapted from Terry Pratchett's book of the same title, from his Discworld series, and was performed by Brighton University Drama Society. I went to see it with my parents, neither of whom have read the book (I may have pestered them a little to go to the play...)

I re-read the book recently, in order to refresh my memory of the storyline. It's been a while since I last read it and I'd been really looking forward to seeing this play.

Wyrd Sisters is something of a take on Macbeth, with some good old Terry Pratchett humour and quirkiness thrown in for good measure. It includes three witches, a dead king, a group of strolling players, a mad ruler and a fool.

Being a play, there were lots of prop changes, all of which were done by the cast. Though this could have been awkward, the changes were deflected by the mutterings of the characters as they carried props off stage, which gave the impression of the characters walking off still mumbling to each other/themselves.

I thought the show was really well cast. Each actor pulled off their role(s) brilliantly! The cast delivered humour with perfect timing, both in spoken lines and physical reactions.

The costumes were also well put together. I'm assuming that some were made whilst others bought/customised for the show. Either way, they looked good, and worked for the character wearing them. The nobles' clothing looked rich and expensive, whilst the witches appeared more practical and down to earth. I was amused by Nanny Ogg's tendency to flash her bloomers--it was such typical Gytha Ogg behaviour!

Before this week, I hadn't seen a stage adaptation of any Discworld novels, but I'm glad I was able to see this one. I really enjoyed it, and my parents enjoyed it too! Next I'll have to get them onto the books, eh?!

If you want to see this too, the last performance of Wyrd Sisters is on at the Brighthelm Church & Community Centre, Brighton, on 30th May 2015.