Short Shakespeare! Macbeth at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...I am always in awe when I see one of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's "Short Shakespeare!" performances. The very idea that someone can abridge one of Shakespeare's complicated plots into 75 minutes is mind-boggling. That said, "Short Shakespeare! Macbeth" is an intense immersion into a dark world of greed and ambition. Although geared to younger audiences, Marti Lyons' original adaptation doesn't lose a thing in the translation. This is dynamite!"

Picture This Post - Highly Recommended

"...Written by William Shakespeare and adapted by Director Marti Lyons, the famous tragedy follows Macbeth (Amir Abdullah, a commanding presence in the role), a war hero who learns of the Weyard Sisters' prophecy that he will become King of Scotland. He and Lady Macbeth (Tiffany Scott, with impressive strength) decide to take fate into their own hands and murder King Duncan (Kevin Theis) to make the prophecy a reality. However, as one might expect, things certainly do not go as they might hope, and quite a lot of blood drops due to this couple's ambition. Full of witchcraft, swordfights, and deceit, Macbeth offers both a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's tragedies, and a fun afternoon of theater for those who are long-time fans of the Bard (like this writer)."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...There is an encouraging lesson here: if all theater was designed to be seen by high school students, especially those from school districts of diverse socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and religious demographics, while respecting young people's ability to grasp complex human relationships and social context and nurturing their innate curiosity, which eagerly grabs the baton of knowledge at the limits of their experience, then the whole industry might be infinitely improved. Someone tell the Macbeths of the world, with their vaunted and vaulting ambition, that tomorrow need not be so dreary and dreamless."