William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a dark and thrilling tale of ambition, power, and fate. First performed in the early 1600s, this tragedy has captivated audiences for centuries with its haunting supernatural elements and relentless descent into madness. Its characters are among the most famous in theatre history, bringing to life the treacherous world of medieval Scotland, where loyalty is a fragile thing and destiny is written in blood.
Macbeth
Once a valiant and noble Scottish general, Macbeth is the play’s tragic hero - or, depending on how you see it, its ultimate villain. At the start of the play, he is a loyal subject of King Duncan, admired for his bravery in battle. But after receiving a prophecy from three mysterious witches that he will become king, ambition consumes him. Encouraged by his equally ruthless wife, he takes matters into his own hands, murdering Duncan and seizing the throne. However, the crown weighs heavy on his head, and paranoia drives him into a spiral of further violence and madness. Macbeth’s journey from war hero to tyrannical ruler is one of Shakespeare’s most compelling portrayals of ambition gone wrong.
Famous faces who have played Macbeth include; Laurence Olivier, David Tennant, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy and Daniel Craig.
Lady Macbeth
If Macbeth is ambitious, Lady Macbeth is downright relentless. She is the mastermind behind Duncan’s murder, pushing her husband to act when he hesitates. Her iconic speech where she calls upon spirits to “unsex” her, stripping her of any perceived feminine weakness, reveals her determination to seize power at any cost. However, while she starts off as the driving force behind Macbeth’s rise, she is ultimately undone by her own guilt. The once-fearless queen becomes haunted by her actions, leading to her famous sleepwalking scene where she tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands. Her descent into madness is as tragic as it is chilling.
Famous faces who have played Lady Macbeth include; Helen McCrory, Dame Judi Dench, Cush Jumbo, Vivien Leigh, Frances McDormand and Saoirse Ronan.
The Three Witches
Few characters in literature are as eerily captivating as the Weird Sisters. These three witches, with their cryptic prophecies and sinister rhymes (“Double, double, toil and trouble…”), set the entire play in motion. Whether they are merely messengers of fate or actively manipulating events is up for debate, but their influence on Macbeth is undeniable. Their predictions fuel his ambition, and their final warnings - delivered in deliberately misleading riddles - lull him into a false sense of security, sealing his doom.
Banquo
Banquo is Macbeth’s fellow general and, for a brief time, his closest ally. Unlike Macbeth, Banquo is wary of the witches’ prophecies, suspecting they may lead to trouble. He is promised that his descendants will one day rule Scotland, a fact that unnerves Macbeth. Though Banquo remains noble and loyal, his fate is sealed when Macbeth sees him as a threat. His murder is one of the play’s most chilling moments - but even in death, he refuses to be silenced, returning as a ghost to haunt his former friend.