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Macbeth

Shakespeare Unlocked is aimed at teachers and young students of Shakespeare. It offers insights into character, dramatic devices and interpretative choices through performance. Three key scenes are shown from Macbeth which are then explored by actors and directors in workshops. We recommend you watch a scene first and then the workshop films. The Teachers' Pack below offers many ideas for using the whole series in the classroom.

Act 1 Scene 7

Act 2 Scene 2

  • Bloody Daggers Scene

    Macbeth has committed the murder and is overcome with guilt and fear. Lady Macbeth tries to reassure him and oversee the unfinished business. A knocking at the door unsettles them both.

  • The King is Dead

    The actors and director explore the Macbeths’ very different responses to Duncan’s murder. They try different ways of playing the escalating conflict between the two characters.

  • Rhythm of the Language

    The cast discuss iambic pentameter and explore the rhythms of Shakespeare’s language. The rhythm of the lines creates an atmosphere of urgency and desperation.

  • Hearing Noises

    Macbeth’s guilty conscience causes him to hear terrifying sounds. He cannot say ‘Amen’. The cast explore how Lady Macbeth takes control of the situation.

Act 5 Scene 1

  • Sleepwalking Scene

    The doctor and Lady-In-Waiting witness Lady Macbeth sleepwalking. Mottled lighting and a gloomy set create an oppressive atmosphere. Lady Macbeth appears haunted by remorse.

  • Sleepwalking Queen

    The director works with the cast to explore how knowledge of Lady Macbeth’s dark secret changes the lives of the doctor and lady-in-waiting.

  • Candle in the Dark

    The director and actors experiment with the staging of the sleepwalking scene. What happens to the relationships when the whole of the scene is played in a small circle of light?

  • Unlocking the Words

    RSC Head of Voice and Text, Lyn Darnley, helps Aislìn McGuckin highlight what Lady Macbeth is seeing, hearing and smelling, to make sense of her seemingly disconnected words.

About the 2011 RSC Production

  • About the Production

    Michael Boyd and Tom Piper talk about their production and how the design was informed by the period in which Macbeth was written: the Protestant Reformation and the Gunpowder plot. They explore supernatural elements of the play: how the porter is portrayed as Satan and the witches as Macduff's dead children.

  • Teachers' Pack

    The Teachers’ Pack is aimed at the teaching of Key Stage 3 and 4 English. It can also be used for Key Stage 5 and Theatre Studies.

  • Scenes Text

    Download and print the text of the Macbeth scenes explored by Shakespeare Unlocked.

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