Macbeth

19th century superstar Charlotte Cushman’s final performances included benefits for Union troops during the American Civil War. The fundraising organizers thanked her with commemorative albums now in the Folger collection.

Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Macbeth, tells a story of ambition, violent murder, and its crippling psychological aftereffects, all foretold by a trio of witches. Explore some of the play’s most well-known lines, in order of their appearance.

Austin Tichenor shares three takes on Shakespeare’s Macbeth that focus on the human struggle within the tragedy in new and unexpected ways, including a production at the RSC, a novel about Lady Macbeth, and a film for streaming.

Ansel shares how her questions as an artist fellow about Fuseli’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth inspired her to create two abstract, large-scale oil paintings but this time from a woman’s perspective that celebrates the play’s sisterhood.

One of 18th-century Britain’s most prolific narrative painters, Henry Fuseli found inspiration in Shakespeare, with his painting of Macbeth and the witches one of his “best poetical conceptions.”

Austin Tichenor explores how the shift of a narrative’s perspective can offer answers to questions about which characters deserve redemption and our forgiveness, from Lear to Iago to Richard III.

Washington National Opera’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello interviews director, Brenna Corner, about Verdi’s opera inspired by Macbeth.

Read about the Federal Theatre Project’s 1936 Harlem production of Macbeth in this excerpt from The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by James Shapiro.

As Halloween approaches, we take a look at Shakespeare’s best quotations about fear.

Austin Tichenor draws comparisons between Kim Wexler and Lady Macbeth, unpacking Shakespearean themes in the “Better Call Saul” series.

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.

While working on a dual biography of Brunhild and Fredegund, Shelley Puhak stumbled across a connection between these medieval queens and Shakespeare.