Quick Info
Scotland, a long time ago. The war is over. Macbeth and his friend Banquo return from the battlefield. They have won, they are full of adrenaline, their swords still wet with blood. The name Macbeth echoes from everywhere, the air buzzes with stories of how easy it was for him to slaughter. Macbeth the hero, killer in the service of king and country, has a great future ahead of himself. Strange creatures predict kingship for him. What is needed for this are actions bathed in blood. Macbeth is only to listen to the thirst for carnage that dwells within him. Encouraged by his wife, he murders his way to absolute power: first the king, then his best friends, then their families including their children. The witches' prediction seems fulfilled, at least in part. The joy of absolute power, however, is missing. Macbeth and his lady are consumed by guilt and regret. Inevitably, the second part of the prediction will also come true, however improbable its conditions. Abandoned by friend and foe, Macbeth is left with only one deliverance – from himself.
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest and bloodiest tragedy. Written between 1603 and 1607, it is partly based on the true story of the Scottish king Macbeth (1005-1057), who ascended the throne in 1040 by killing King Duncan I. Although his deeds strike us as unimaginable and inhuman, there is an uneasy feeling that Macbeth is not just monstrous. Even as he bathes in blood, Macbeth reflects on his humanity, considers his actions as an expression of a larger thought: a black thought, but a thought. He reminds us that the human being is a reflective animal. Macbeth is the person we could be if someone pushed the wrong buttons on us. Shuddering at Macbeth's crimes, we shudder at ourselves.
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Cast
- Witch 1
- Stefan Hunstein
- Witch 2 (Duncan, Macbeth, Malcolm, Mörder)
- Jens Harzer
- Witch 3 (Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, Lady Macduff, Sohn)
- Marina Galic
Staff
- Johan Simons
