A memorable Macbeth: Setting the Scottish play in 19th-century Haiti
Read about the 1936 “voodoo Macbeth” in this excerpt from The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by James Shapiro.
10 Shakespeare quotes about fear
As Halloween approaches, we take a look at Shakespeare’s best quotations about fear.
“I do fear thy nature”: Kim Wexler and echoes of 'Macbeth' in 'Better Call Saul'
Austin Tichenor draws comparisons between Kim Wexler and Lady Macbeth, unpacking Shakespearean themes in the “Better Call Saul” series.
Q&A: Director Sam Gold on his 'Macbeth' with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga
Director Sam Gold shares what he loves most about Macbeth, why it stands out from other Shakespeare tragedies he’s directed, and how his ideas about the play changed over time.
The unlikely link between a sixth-century queen and Macbeth
While working on a dual biography of Brunhild and Fredegund, Shelley Puhak stumbled across a connection between these medieval queens and Shakespeare.
The power of restriction: Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'
Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth, now streaming on Apple TV+ A movie that honors a play’s theatricality: That’s what director Joel Coen said he wanted for The Tragedy of Macbeth, his new adaptation of the Scottish play. The…
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January
This January, new productions kick off at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Plus, streaming productions of Macbeth, a podcast returns, and a new audio play.
Speaking what we feel: Shakespeare’s plague plays
How do Shakespeare’s plays reflect a life filled with plague outbreaks, asks Austin Tichenor — and do we see his plays in new ways now?
Up Close: The voodoo Macbeth that generated jobs for Black Americans during the Great Depression
A spectacular 1936 Federal Theatre Project production of “Macbeth” in New York City employed hundreds of black actors and theater technicians. It was financed by the Federal Theatre Project, a controversial part of the federal government’s New Deal programs to…
Strange Shakespeare: Macbeth and the even weirder sisters
Shakespeare’s witches haven’t always terrified audiences. For a century and more – from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries – actors played these parts for laughs. During the period in which Shakespeare became “the Bard”, the witches in…
Order It: Macbeth’s “Out, out, brief candle!”
As the play’s climactic battle approaches, Macbeth is told of his wife’s death. He responds, “She should have died hereafter. There would have been a time for such a word.” And then he launches into one of Shakespeare’s most famous…
Excerpt – ‘Lady Romeo’ by Tana Wojczuk
American actress Charlotte Cushman was a 19th-century theatrical icon, known for playing traditionally male roles like Romeo and Hamlet. She was not the only actress of her time to play these parts, but her style was uniquely assertive and athletic.…