The sad story of a basically good man and his loyally ambitious wife who yield to evil in their quest for power is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.  After the three witches prophesize that Macbeth will be king of Scotland, Lady Macbeth’s relentless determination to have this prophecy come true starts the pair on a dark, murderous warpath.  Once started, Macbeth’s fear about the witches’ other predictions leads him to carry out more and more murders.  Besieged with guilt and realizing the horrors of what they are doing, Macbeth and his lady are trapped in a self-created nightmare.  Lady Macbeth becomes so isolated and tormented about the chain of events she unleashed that she eventually kills herself, while Macbeth becomes a compulsive and fearful murderer and tyrant until the witches’ final prophecy of Macbeth’s death comes to fruition.  This timeless play of temptation, crime and punishment brilliantly exposes its readers to the pure evil that can accompany fallen humanity.

Keith Nielsen’s adaptation of this classic tragedy will open the doors for young people to both reading and performing Shakespeare.  Somewhat simplified yet still retaining all the critical elements of the original, this is the perfect introduction for students not yet ready to tackle Shakespeare’s actual text.