Legend has it that this dark and violent play is cursed and all who play in it could have bad luck.

To counter this, some actors, even to this day. refuse to call it by its real name and instead refer to it as… ‘The Scottish Play’.

It was first published in 1623 and is thought to have been written by Shakespeare in response to an upsurge in interest of things Scottish after the accession to the English throne of James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England in 1603. He had an interest in theatre and was soon a patron of Shakespeare’s Theatre Company.

The play is entirely fictitious but has its roots in the real events of the 11^th century, which in Scotland were extremely violent, being fraught with the assassination of kings, families, nobles’ entire clans and the like.

It was also a very superstitious age with belief in witchcraft. This takes centre stage in the play where witches, encountered by Macbeth, prophesise things which bolster his ambitions and convince him, that in pursuit of them, he is invincible. His wife is equally ambitious and urges him on to even more foul deeds, which ultimately leads to her madness and to take her own life.