Acting out Macbeth.
Readers’ Theatre Script. Developed by Stewart McGowan, Hunter
School of the Performing Arts.
Seat the students in a circle around a large central space. Get them to
act out the story of Macbeth as you read the script to them. Pause where
appropriate to give students time to physicalise the story or the
character. To get you started, pauses in the opening section have been
indicated with a double slash (//).Use the word change’ to indicate that
all students should return to their seats.
Duncan was King of Scotland.// He had several Thanes, noblemen who
ruled with him. //Eleventh Century Scotland was a violent, unstable
country.// The King and his thanes loved to fight. //They fought with
England.// They fought with Ireland.// They fought with Norway.// And
they fought with each other.//
(Change)
At the opening of the play, Duncan, King of Scotland//, and some of his
Thanes// are looking over a battlefield.// Their enemies lie dead and
dying around them.// A messenger arrives.// He tells Duncan that two of
his Thanes, Macbeth// and Banquo//, have defeated his most dangerous
enemies//. Everybody cheers//.
(Change)
In the next scene, Macbeth and Banquo are crossing a moor. This is cold,
wet, boggy country. They meet three witches. The witches hail Macbeth
and Banquo.
The witches make predictions: they tell Macbeth that he is about to be
promoted. He is to get the lands of the Thane of Cawdor,
They also tell him that one day he will be King of Scotland
They tell Banquo that he will be the father of a long line of Scottish
kings.
Macbeth and Banquo are sceptical. But then a messenger arrives. He
tells Macbeth that the Thane of Cawdor has been executed because he
betrayed Duncan. Macbeth has been given all his lands and his title!
Macbeth and Banquo wonder if the rest of the prophecy might be true.
Later, Macbeth and Banquo meet with Duncan. Macbeth invites
everyone to a victory celebration at his castle in Inverness.
Back at Inverness castle, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her
husband. It tells her of the witches’ prophecy. She is in no doubt at all.
She wants to be queen. When Macbeth arrives home, she argues with
him. She persuades him to kill the King after the celebration!
The celebration begins. All the thanes are there. There is much eating
and drinking.
Later that night, Lady Macbeth gets Duncan’s two chamberlains, his
bodyguards, really drunk. They black out. Duncan falls asleep as well.
Macbeth prepares to kill him. He is horrified with the thought of what
he’s doing. He sees imaginary daggers. He has doubts. But his wife
convinces him to go ahead with the murder. He stabs Duncan while he
sleeps. Lady Macbeth takes the daggers from Macbeth and wipes the
blood on the chamberlains.
In the morning, the King’s body is discovered by another Thane,
Macduff. He raises the alarm. Banquo, Macbeth and the other Thanes
come running. Macbeth sees the blood on the chamberlains and kills
them on the spot. Lady Macbeth pretends to faint at the sight of blood.
When Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, hear of their father’s
murder, they flee to other countries so that no-one can kill them.
The thanes meet and decide that Macbeth shall be the new King. He is
crowned King of Scotland. All the thanes say, ‘All hail Macbeth’
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth now start to worry about the rest of the
witches prophecy. They want their own children to become Kings, not
Banquos. Macbeth hires three murderers and sends them to kill Banquo
and his son Fleance. The murderers ambush Banquo and Fleance. There
is a fight. Banquo dies, but his son escapes. When the murderers return
to Macbeth and tell him Fleance lives, he is furious. This means Banquo’s
children can still become Kings.
Macbeth is holding another feast. All the Thanes are there. There is a
seat reserved for Banquo next to Macbeth. Banquo’s ghost arrives at the
feast and sits in the seat reserved for him. Only Macbeth can see him.
Macbeth raves at the rest of the guests. Who has played this trick on
him? Can no-one else see Banquo’s ghost? Lady Macbeth tries to calm
him. The feast breaks up in confusion.
Fearful of what the future may bring, Macbeth returns to the witches
and asks for more prophecies.
END OF PART ONE
The Story of Macbeth – Part II
Where we left off…..
If you remember, Banquo’s ghost had just gatecrashed Macbeth’s feast
sending him into a bit of a state. As you can imagine, Macbeth’s raving at
thin air got all the other nobles wondering if they had made a big
mistake in their choice of king.
Of course, Lady Macbeth goes into damage control but Macbeth will not
rest until he speaks to the witches in their cave.
There, they introduce him to a sequence of demons and spirits who
present him with further prophecies:
 Number 1 - he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who
opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne;
 Number two - he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of
woman;
 and number three, he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to
Dunsinane Castle… like that will ever happen, right?
Macbeth, as you can imagine, is relieved and finally feels secure. After
all, of course all men are born of women and everyone knows that
forests cannot move.
Then, Macbeth learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm,
so he orders that Macduff’s castle be seized. As if that wasn’t bad
enough, he also orders that Lady Macduff and her children are to be
murdered, adding to his growing list of victims!
When Macduff hears about his family’s execution he vows revenge and
joins with Prince Malcolm, who has been busy gathering an army to
challenge Macbeth.
The Scottish nobles, by this time, have had enough of Macbeth’s
tyrannical and murderous behaviour and decide to help Prince Malcolm
and Macduff when they arrive.
Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, is no help to Macbeth as she can’t stop
sleepwalking and is convinced that her hands are covered in the blood of
those she has helped to murder.
So, lack of sleep, guilt over the murders and constantly washing her
hands to try and get the bloodstains out all take their toll. Lady Macbeth
goes mad and kills herself.
While Macbeth is waiting for Malcolm and Macduff, he hears that Lady
Macbeth has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep , dark
despair. But, he’s committed now so he awaits the English at Dunsinane.
Even after all that has happened – ghosts, floating daggers, suicidal
spouses, Macbeth is still convinced he is safe because of what the
witches had said.
But when he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane
shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood, Macbeth is struck numb
with fear! He realises that Birnam Wood is indeed coming to
Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy!
But Macbeth decides that there’s no way the second half of the
prophecy can come true so he goes into battle where he meets Macduff.
They are fighting when Macduff tells Macbeth that he was “untimely
ripped from his mother’s womb”, in other words born by caesarean
section, so he wasn’t “of a woman born”!
When Macbeth hears that he knows it’s all over red rover but fights on
anyway…after all, he’s got nothing to lose now. Eventually Macduff gets
the upper hand and chops off Macbeth’s head.
Duncan and his army are victorious and he invites everyone to a huge
party in Scone to see him crowned King of Scotland.
THE END