Macbeth: The DVD Edition includes everything you've come to expect from the Folger Shakespeare Library editions of Shakespeare's plays -- facing-page explanatory notes, scene-by-scene plot summaries, illustrations from the Folger archives -- combined here with a bonus DVD of a performance of Macbeth recorded before a rapt audience in the Folger's intimate Elizabethan Theatre. Conceived and directed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and Aaron Posner, this acclaimed production showcases the inventive magic of Teller, who, with Posner, contributes a new foreword to this edition, writing about their vision of the play as a "supernatural horror thriller." Macbeth: The DVD Edition is the perfect volume for those encountering the play for the first time and for those finding brilliant new insights into a classic. THIS DVD EDITION INCLUDES:
- DVD of the 2008 Folger Theatre/Two River Theater Company production -- with over 50 minutes of special features, including interviews with the directors, actors, designers, and scholars
- Foreword by directors Teller and Aaron Posner on the staging of Macbeth
- Freshly edited text based on the 1623 First Folio
- Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
- A key to the play's famous lines and phrases
- An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language in Macbeth
- Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
- An essay by Susan Snyder that provides a modern perspective on the play
The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers. In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James's belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft. In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife's ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes? Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. The line is