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Catherine Cavendish Podcast TTT Season 5 Shehanne Moore William Shakespeare

Season 5 Episode 9: Macbeth’s Witches Chant with Shehanne Moore and Catherine Cavendish

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

The 400th anniversary of the first folio of Macbeth is set to take place in 2023. Published in 1623, the first folio is considered one of the most important works of William Shakespeare. It is a collection of 36 of his plays, including Macbeth, and is an important part of the literary canon. The anniversary of this folio will be celebrated around the world, with events taking place to commemorate the work of William Shakespeare and the impact the folio has had on literature and culture.

Catherine Cavendish, writer of Gothic horror and Shehanne Moore, writer of exhilarating historical romances, have joined me to commemorate this momentous milestone. 

With the magic of WIFI, we have brought Dundee Scotland, Southport England, and Vancouver, Canada together to whisk you back four hundred years to meet the Three Witches of Macbeth, the trio of supernatural beings often referred to as the “Weird Sisters.” They are believed to be the embodiments of fate and destiny. Are you ready????

Thank you for joining Cat, Shey and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.

And a very special thank you, Cat and Shey, for conjuring the drama and force of the Three Witches and celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio.

Listeners,  I invite you to meet up with Cat on her website, Catherine Cavendish, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon and  Goodreads,

I invite your to meet up with Shey on her website, Shehanne Moore, Twitter, Amazon and Goodreads.

Until next time we meet, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Macbeth’s Witches Chant with Shehanne Moore and Catherine Cavendish – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

FOR ALL TIME: THE SHAKESPEARE FIRST FOLIO
JANUARY 15, 2022 – APRIL 18, 2022 Vancouver Art Gallery

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

61 replies on “Season 5 Episode 9: Macbeth’s Witches Chant with Shehanne Moore and Catherine Cavendish”

Thank you so much for making a dream come true, Cat. I have always wanted to have a part in The Witches Chant. You and Shey are amazing. As Shakespeare would say “All’s Well that Ends Well.” Hugs!

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I am beyond thrilled that you enjoyed this podcast conversation, Martina. Every since I first read Macbeth in high school, I wanted to be one of the witches of Macbeth. Shey and Cat graciously joined me to “live my dream.” I am glad that you added to the party!!! Hugs!

Liked by 4 people

Your comment, Rebecca, really makes me smile! When we did Macbeth in my literature course, the witches made me dispair, because of their language and because the power, I felt, they had over the king and maybe over everybody! I am open ear for your next chapter:):):)

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Absolutely, Rebecca, they seemed to be wicked fairies out of our world and I was afraid that their prophesies, such as : When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won, meant that they would soon become true! By the way, I had to check the exact “hurly-burley sentence !

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Don loved working with the foley, especially the thunder and lightning cracks. When I listened to the conversation and closed my eyes, I felt I was there in the cave hovering over the bubbling cauldron. YIKES!!!

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Fabulous podcast! Loved the acting in the first part — vivid, delightful, atmospheric, with wonderful sound effects! I also loved the excellent discussion that followed, including the mention of how Shakespeare created many new words when he couldn’t find existing ones that worked. Fascinating!

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I am so pleased that you enjoyed the performance, Dave. You can imagine how much fun Don had been the foley. Shey and Cat have marvelous voices. They were brilliant at instilling fear and dread. They delivered the incantation in an eerie and ominous tone which added to the unsettling atmosphere. We had a lot of fun recording this podcast. I always cross my fingers when connecting over the internet, but the computer gods were with us that day!!

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What a delightful episode, Rebecca, Cat and Shey. I loved every minute of it. I am a huge Shakespeare fan and have seen most of his plays. A group of us attended Vancouver’s Shakespeare on the Beach every year for about 20 years, making it a day out. One year we decided to invite the husbands to join us as the play was Macbeth. We decided they would enjoy it as there was plenty of action, sex and violence. They were totally spellbound. You three all played your parts well. Bravo!!

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Thank you for joining Cat, Shey and me in the Scottish Highlands, Darlene. Bard on the Beach has just rolled out its 2023 Season. I am excited! The plays are: As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Henry V. You must come back to join us at Bard on the Beach. They have promised “a lively 60-minutes ride through many words and many worlds” that I want to attend as well. I am delighted you enjoyed our performance. It was a dream come true for me.

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I am hoping to time my trip back to Canada to include Bard on the Beach. It’s been a few years now. They always do such a fabulous job of any production. Perhaps you could audition for one of the witches the next time they do Macbeth. 💖😊

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Tim – Shey and Cat were spectacular in their delivery. I agree – their voices exuded dark warnings. I was excited to be part of this trio, feeling the heat of a bubbling cauldron and being in a dark cave where incantations changed destinies. Goosebumps!!!

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Whoa. The witch performance was terrifying! I believed every second of it. And I learned a few new nuggets about Shakespeare’s work that I didn’t know before. I found Shey’s discussion of staging MacBeth with the two leads played by young actors fascinating.

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this podcast, Liz. Don had so much fun with the background foley. The witches chant from Macbeth sets the tone for the entire narrative – there is a darkness, a horror that comes over the play. Shakespeare had a way of embedding darkness in his tragedies. And they are not the same darkness. For example, King Lear was dark in a different way, as was Othello.

The first time I read the witches chant passages in high school, I hoped that one day that I would be one of those witches around a bubbling cauldron. Shey and Cat gave me that opportunity.

I agree, Shey’s thought about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as being young was fascinating. It reminded me of how Shakespeare used youth in his plays – Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet.

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That was an amazing performance. The lead is now doing really well on the stand up comedy circuit and also because he was a wonderful talent onstage, but messed up his final audition to a drama school, by not knowing his words…is now back acting and landing parts on television which is great to see. But the fact they were young just gave it this entirely different perspective. Glad you enjoyed xxx

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You guys sound like you’re having too much fun today.

Thanks so much for bringing (and sharing) Catherine and Shehanne to your wonderful podcast.

I wouldn’t think this would be a complement, but you guys are great witches.

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That is the BEST complement you could give us, Dan. I am delighted that you listened in and joined us in the Scottish Highlands. Poor Macbeth didn’t have any chance! Shey and Cat were amazing. They created the perfect atmosphere with their voices. Playing one of the witches was on my bucket list for many years. Many thanks for joining the celebration of the first folio – 400 years and still inspiring the world.

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LOl. Love it. Thank you. Having once played Lady Macduff I always wanted to be a witch. I especially like the bit in this where we are all being witchy and yeah enjoying it and then Rebecca just gets matter of fact and gets on with the discussion.

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We had a great deal of fun as the three witches of Macbeth, Robbie. Shey and Cat had a wonderful understanding of the play and the history surrounding the publishing. Thank you for celebrating the 400th anniversary of the First Folio.

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Everything about this was stunning. Loved the ominous funereal Handel opening and closing– what an earworm- know the piece just can’t name it and now can’t get it out of my head. Don’s excellent sound engineering (now with added sound effects).
Loved your portrayal of the witches. You three have such wonderful voices- and as a Liverpudlian myself I could certainly hear the Lancashire twang in Cat’s voice – and yes it did give a nice warm fuzzy feeling of home from the cald cald glens of South Wales.
One of the many things I thought you did wonderfully was not lose the essential campness of Macbeth’s witches. As I think Cat said, James VI literally wrote the book on witches (Daemonologie) but I always felt Shakespeare left you with a bit of the wonder and madness of 3 mainly harmless beldames just having a cackle- the way you do, not a sense of evil or even threat. I think as Shey said people want to know the future but often the future is not what we want to hear, and knowing the future makes us want to either create it or change it.
The conversation had so many such insights. Loved the thought of Macbeth being played by a young cast with all the greed ambition and sheer unfeeling callousness of youth. The role of the trinity in world-wide mythologies was eye opening.
In the brilliant and immensely flawed The White Goddess, Robert Grave believes this originated with the three faces of the moon- the original white goddess where humans learned to count the seasons and the turning of the year.
All of the conversation was food for thought and incidentially, I just loved the three-way conversation. For the first time in my life I truly appreciate the lyric from that song from the musical Cabaret, which says… Twosies beats onesies. But nothing beats threes

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Paul, what a lovely comment. The peice is Sarabande and it is a fav of mine. Could hardly believe it when it came on. We had alot of fund doing this. U think the main thing was to just be relaxed and have alaugh cos it was nevr rehearsed. And so glad you enjoyed the converstaion .

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Paul – I am delighted that you enjoyed this rendition. It has been a life-long dream to play one of the “Macbeth” witches. And who better to share the virtual stage than Shey and Cat. They are consummate actors!

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Paul – you have added so much to this conversation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. This is the first time that I heard of Daemonologie by King of EnglandJames 1. I found a couple on Project Gutenberg!! Thank you!!!

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Great post, everyone — and a fascinating subject.
Rebecca, by the way, (just in case… although it might be my poor combination of slow computer and slow Internet) I didn’t see a place to leave a comment at your post with your brother (maybe you’ve closed them for your break). But holy freakin’ frijoles, that was a COLD winter!
Hugs to you all.

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This is one fun post!
Thank you Shey, Cat and Rebecca!
Now that I’ve shaken the spook off of my psyche, I can comment without trepidation.
Crazy that it’s the 400th anniversary of the first folio of Macbeth & 35 other plays. 🤔 It seems like it was just yesterday. 🙄
I jest! Still, it’s a long time to last, as only the arts seem to.

This year also marks 40 years of Shakespeare at the Amphitheatre in High Park.
It’s outdoors and it’s free.

This year, from July into September they present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

As I live only a few blocks from the park, I’m hoping to make it this year, once and for all.

I saw this podcast a bit ago, but didn’t have time to listen. I’m happy I came back for that purpose. It is most entertaining.
Again, Thank you all!
PS Great sound effects, and I adore Shey and Cat’s accents adding an authenticity.
Hugs!

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this podcast, Resa. I always wanted to be one of Macbeth’s three witches. I agree wholeheartedly – Shey and Cat’s accents were amazing.

The best part of podcasts and posts are that they are always available to visit and revisit. Celebrating the 40 years of Shakespeare at the Amphitheater in High Park with you.

By the way, I plan to take photos of the mural that I sent you photos a few years ago. The building is up for demolition. YIKES!! I am grateful that you inspired me to follow mural artists. It has been an exciting journey.

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It’s a thing. Many murals are painted on parking lot walls, and on buildings whose days are numbered.
Go shoot that mural! Once it’s gone, only or archived photos will remember.
I do want to archive my street art blog, once I’m finished with it.
So far the best on line archives I’ve found are a lot of work, as you have to archive 1 page or 1 post at a time.
Anyway, there’s still some years to go before I get there. Hopefully archiving will advance.
Hugs!

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