Shows / Macbeth
Macbeth: a live GCSE performance in your school
By William Shakespeare. Touring September to October 2027, then January to April 2028.
The production
Mischievous witches and heroic battles. Regicide and tyranny. The dire, bloody consequences of one couple’s ambition. The stage is set for the rise and fall of Macbeth.
Our actors speak Shakespeare’s verse with an ease and clarity that make it instantly intelligible, and give energetic, physical performances that hold a full hall.
A 60-minute performance covers the key plot points and scenes. It is followed by a workshop of up to 30 minutes, where the cast explore how the themes and quotations of the play shaped their production, and answer pupils’ questions.
Who it’s for
- Key stage
- KS4 (also suitable for Year 9)
- Exam boards
- AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR
- Running time
- 60-minute performance, then a workshop of up to 30 minutes
- Cast
- Number of actors per show
- Space
- 6m × 5m performance area, ideally the main hall, drama studio or theatre
What the workshop covers
Themes
- Ambition and its cost
- Guilt and conscience
- Kingship and tyranny
- The supernatural
- Masculinity and gender
- Appearance and reality
Key quotations
- “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
- “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires”
- “Come, you spirits… unsex me here”
- “Is this a dagger which I see before me”
- “Out, damned spot!”
- “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”
Context
- James I, the Gunpowder Plot and the divine right of kings
- Jacobean beliefs about witchcraft and James’s Daemonologie
- The Great Chain of Being
When it tours
September to October 2027, then January to April 2028. Tell us your preferred weeks and any mock exam dates, and we’ll offer dates that work around them.
touring window for Macbeth
Questions schools ask
Which exam boards is it suitable for?
Macbeth is a GCSE English Literature set text for AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and OCR. The workshop focuses on the themes, characters and quotations that all four boards assess.
How long is the performance?
The performance runs for 60 minutes, followed by a workshop and Q&A of up to 30 minutes. The whole visit fits within a double lesson.
Is it the full play?
It is a faithful, abridged adaptation in Shakespeare’s own language. It keeps every key scene and the quotations pupils are most likely to need in the exam.
When was Macbeth first performed?
Macbeth was probably first performed in 1606, early in the reign of James I. The first recorded performance was at the Globe in April 1611.