Macbeth

 
 
 Foul whisperings are abroad, unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles...

What is there to say about Macbeth that hasn’t already been said a hundred times? It’s a brilliantly exciting, thrillingly dark tale of power, ambition and the supernatural in medieval Scotland, told with all of Shakespeare’s skill as a dramatist.

Confronted by three witches as he returns from battle, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is given a tantalising vision of the future - he will acquire great power in his homeland, first as Thane of Cawdor and then as King of Scotland. Intrigued by this prophecy, his personal ambitions are aroused - and when word arrives that his valour in the King’s service has been indeed rewarded with the title of Cawdor, his thirst for power begins to control him.

Obsessed with the prophecy, he and his scheming wife set their sights on achieving this ultimate honour and authority.  And when King Duncan comes to stay at his trusted nobleman’s home, the scene is set for bloody murder, a power grab, and a dark period of tyranny and fear in Scotland. As Macbeth’s powerlust, paranoia and guilt grow stronger by the day the bodies begin to mount up, and he finds himself haunted by the past and tormented by the fear of losing his new kingdom.

Showing at the  Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh: www.lyceum.org.uk