Special Features: Macbeth's Comedy

Assignment: Watch the Special Features on Macbeth and examine the piece on adding comedy.

What is the purpose of this special feature, that is, what is it seeking to do for students and/or how is it helpful for students?

It seems to me this feature knocks a few preconceived notions out of the ballpark: that Shakespeare leaves no room for improvisation, additional comedy, comedy where perhaps a cold read would not lend itself, and the like. I caught that, after Macbeth wigs out upon seeing Banquo's ghost, Lady Macbeth's line "You have displaced the mirth" gets laughter, presumably, I imagine, because her response seems blatantly obvious in the face of Macbeth's hysteria. That's the kind of comedy I love, by the by--a performer in some way oblivious to his/her surroundings.

I'd love to show this scene to the students after studying the Porter scene, but something tells me my colleagues are going to urge me to show it beforehand. So as to lead the reading, perhaps, or so as to give them a taste of what's to come and psych them up. In lieu of the Youtube video we watched, maybe giving some of the Porter's dialogue as an introductory scene would make this video a better transition to the actual meat and potatoes of the scene itself.

As to other plays in which this would work, I can't see why Titus Andronicus couldn't be hammed up without losing the mayhem and what not: "Villain, I have done thy mother," for example, could induce a bout of laughter, which wouldn't necessarily destroy the tension of the scene, but maybe hype it up (unlike the Porter's scene, depending on how it was played). Then, there's the Cinna the Poet scene, where his bewilderment at the whims of the mob could be laughed at, however momentarily, before we descend once again into the horror of mob rule.