The Paper Cinema is an ensemble of musicians and visual makers under the pretence of making film out of everything in front of them. You get to see us making this film live. It’s live Foley, sound and image.

I think when you first come to see The Paper Cinema it will just appear to be a nice big screen with things on stage that are hidden in the darkness. The screen comes on, the film starts. We’re onstage starting the film, so you have that dual experience of seeing the film being made - and it is presented as a whole film - that is what you’re looking at.

You can watch it from one angle but then there’s the whole tradition of making going on underneath; the puppeteering and musicianship and us moving around and working as a team.

This summer in 2017 we’re bringing Macbeth to the Edinburgh showcase in all its dark and murky glory. It’s our second major co-production with Battersea Arts Centre who helped and worked with us to get The Odyssey together in 2012.

With the telling of Macbeth and all Shakespeare there comes, for our medium, a very interesting challenge. It’s a challenge to take words and stage directions and turn that into film. It’s a chance to try and separate the words from the actual actions that have been set down by Shakespeare but looking at the feelings and emotions that those characters are going through.

The Paper Cinema is a very open platform and it’s very playful so it will talk to broad sections. In terms of the people we have it’s of all ages, from old to young and to people that know the text and don’t know the text.

Because we’re theatrical cinema makers coming from art backgrounds and musical backgrounds, we like playing gigs, we like playing in arts centres, we like playing outside if we can deal with the weather, so it’s a very broad scope.

The one thing we have is a vim and enjoyment for performance and for making and entertaining and informing and shocking and all those lovely things as well. It’s a nice visceral experience.

Words: Nicholas Rawling, Artistic Director of The Paper Cinema.

Macbeth is a co-production by The Paper Cinema and Battersea Arts Centre.
Video by British Council Arts for the Edinburgh Showcase 2017.
 

The Paper Cinema’s Macbeth is at the Everyman, Tue 6 Nov to Thu 8 Nov