Why Macbeth Is So Hard to Stage Well
Macbeth and His Problems
An essay examines the unique challenges of staging Shakespeare's Macbeth, from its ambiguous magic and tonal shifts to the lack of a credible motivation for its protagonist. It argues that the play's success depends heavily on the production, unlike more 'actor-proof' scripts, and explores how its historical context complicates modern performances.
If one function of tragedy is to render the unspeakable understandable, then Macbeth leaves this work in the hands of the individual production.