THE STORY OF MACBETH

adapted from Shakespeare

by

Saviour Pirotta

for his audience at the Bradford Literary Festival on 1st July 2025

text copyright, Saviour Pirotta

WHEN Duncan the Meek was the king of Scotland, there lived a general in the army called Macbeth. This Macbeth was a near cousin to the king, and everyone praised him for his courage and bravery, especially on the battlefield.

One terrible, stormy night, with no moon in the sky and the wind shrieking through the trees, Macbeth and a friend of his, another general called Banquo were returning home from a battle against rebels.

`Crossing a heath, Macbeth and Banquo heard shrieking voices on the wind.

         Double, Double toil and trouble

         Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Three old women, their faces hidden behind tattered black scarves, were leaping around a cauldron. When they saw the two men, each woman stopped, removed her scarf to reveal a hairy chin and warty nose. One by one the women put a finger to her lips.

‘Welcome, lord of Glamis,” said one.

“Welcome, lord of Cawdor,” said the second.

“All hait, you who shall be king of all Scotland,” said the third.

Macbeth was startled to find the women knew his name, and not a little confused to be called a lord. He was not a lord of anywhere, much less someone who would one day be king.

The witches, for such the creatures were turned to his friend Banquo.

“Lesser than Macbeth but greater,” cackled one.

“Not so happy but much happier,” said the second.

“You shall never be king,” said the third to Banquo, “but your sons shall sit on the throne of Scotland, never fear.”

And with that, the witched disappeared on the wind.

Macbeth and Banquo stood there among the heather, aware that they had just seen the weird sisters when they heard the sound of hoofbeats.

A messenger from King Duncan the Meek approached. “The king is so pleased with your bravery in battle, he has made you the Lord of Cawdor,” he said, bowing infront of Macbeth.

Macbeth was speechless. The witch’s first prediction had already come true. If the other two came to be as well, he would become king of Scotland.

“And your son, Banquo,” he said. “Will become king after me.”

“We must be careful,” warned Banquo, “Witches are evil, and their words often lead us to do evil things ourselves.” 

But the wicked suggestions of the witches had sunk too deep in Macbeth’s mind. From then on, he could think of nothing except becoming the king of Scotland.

Now Macbeth spoke to his wife, the Lady Macbeth. She was an ambitious woman and she urged Macbeth to stop at nothing to make the witches’ words come true.  “You must come to the throne,” she urged. “Even if you have to kill the king.”

Now it happened that King Duncan came to visit. He wanted to thank Macbeth himself for being so brave on the battlefield. He brought his sons Malcolm and Donalbain with him, and a numerous train of lords to honour Lord and Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth’s castle stood in a beautiful spot called Dunislane, surrounded by lush countryside and lakes. It was famous for the sumptuous meals it served its guests, and for the kindness of the hostess, Lady Macbeth.

The king being tired from his journey, went early to bed, and in his state­room two servants slept on the floor on either side of him. He had given the Lady Macbeth a dazzling jewel as thanks for the meal. Now he lady in bed and fell asleep…

Lady Macbeth might have been charming during the feast, but all the while she was plotting how to get rid of the king. She knew her husband could not become the ruler of Scotland until King Duncan was dead, and she also knew that Macbeth did not have the courage to murder the king kimself.

In the middle of the night, when only wolves and murderers are about, she hid a dagger under her cloak and approached the king’s chamber. There she was Duncan asleep. He looked so innocent, so child-like, she did not have the courage to go ahead with her plan.

She returned to her own room where Macbeth was waiting. “Did you do it?” he asked.

Lady Macbeth put the clean dagger down on the bed.

“It is good that you didn’t,” he said. “King Duncan is my cousin. He’s been kind to me. He’s made everyone respect me, he even made me a lord.”

Lady Macbeth thought these words made her husband sound weak. She accused him of being a coward. “You shall never become king,” she said, “and I can never be queen to a coward.” She pressed the dagger into his hands. “If you are a man worthy of being a king, do it.”

So, taking the dagger in his hand, Macbeth crept to the dark to the room where Duncan lay;and as he went, he thought he saw another dagger in the air, with the handle towards him, and on

the blade and at the point of it drops of blood; but when he tried to grasp at it, it was nothing but air, a ghostly presence.

Getting rid of this fear, he entered the king's room, stepped over one of the sleeping servants and plunged the dagger in he kings chest.

One of the servants laughed in his sleep and said ‘amen’. The other cried ‘murder’ and both woke up. But only for a moment. Then they fell asleep again and Macbeth crept unnoticed out of the king’s room. 

As he hurried back to Lady Macbeth, he though he heard a voice whispering along the dark corridors. "Sleep no more: Macbeth doth murder sleep.”

Back in his own room, Lady Macbeth snatched the dagger from him and, while he washed his hands off the blood at a basin, she hurried to the king’s chamber and smeared blood all over the servant’s cheeks.

Morning came, and with it the discovery of the murder. Macbeth and his lady made great show of grief. The servants were accused of the crime but there were many who suspected Macbeth just the same. Why would two servants want to kill their masters? And was not Macbeth now the rightful king.

Malcolm and Donalbain fled, Malcolm to England and Donalbain to Ireland, leaving the throne empty for Macbeth.

Thus the witch’s prophecy came true.

Still, Macbeth could not find any peace. The witches had made a prediction to Banquo. His sons would become kings after Macbeth.

“We musn’t let it happen,” said Lady Macbeth. “Our son has died but we might have another. You must get rid of Banquo and his son Fleance.”

For this purpose they announced a great feast, to which they invited all the chief lords, including Banquo and Fleance, who were guests to be guests of honour.

Macbeth did not have to heart to commit a second murder himself, so he hired assassins. Trained well in their darks acts, the killers managed to kill Banquo but Fleance escaped.

The great banquet started but no Banquo or Fleance took their place at the table.

“All the great people of Scotland are under our roof,” said the Lady Macbeth, nodding at her servants to start serving the meal.

“All except my friend Banquo,” said Macbeth about to take his chair at the table. “I wonder what is keeping him.”

As he said this, a ghostly figure appeared in his chair. It was. The ghost of Banquo, with blood running down his chest. At the sight of him, Macbeth turned deathly pale.

“Do you not see him?” he whispered to Lady Macbeth.

But not the lady nor anyone else in the room could see the ghost.

Macbeth started shaking so much, Lady Macbeth was worried their crime might be discovered. Telling the guests, the king was suddenly taken ill, she stopped the banquet.

The days passed and, just as the voice in the corridor had whispered, Macbeth could sleep no more. Both he and Lady Macbeth could think of nothing but Fleance returning to claim the Scottish throne.

         Macbeth decided to seek out the weird sisters and find out if Fleance would indeed return. He found them on the heath by moonlight, stirring a cauldron.

“Would you like us to reveal the future our would you like to commune with our masters the spirits?”

“I will have it from the spirits themselves,” cried Macbeth.

The witches threw all sorts of ingredients into the bubbling pot. Toads and bats and serpents. The eye of a newt, the tongue of a dog, the leg of a lizard, the scale of a dragon, the tooth of a wolf, the jaw of a shark, the roots of poisonous plant, the hoof of a goat and last of all the finger of a dead child.

"But where are the spirits?” said Macbeth, “let me see them." First a head rose out of the cauldron. “Beware Macduff, the Lord of Fife,” it said. 

The second spirit arose in the likeness of a bloody child, and he called Macbeth by name. “Have no fear,” it said. “Laugh at the power of man for no one will have the power to harm thee.”

“Then I do not fear Macduff,” cried Macbeth. “And yet I shall make sure you will not be of danger to me.”

A third spirit rose out of the cauldron. “You shall not fall, Macbeth,’ it declared, “until the forest of Birnam comes to meet you at Dunsinane Hill.”

“Then I shall never fall,” shouted Macbeth, “for a forest cannot walk and come to meet me. I shall live a long life with my wife the Lady Macbeth.”

He paused for a moment, then spoke to the spirit again. “But tell me, will Banquo’s son and grandsons be kings after me?”

But there spirit did not speak again. The cauldron sank into the ground, leaving a great hole. Macbeth heard eerie music as if coming out of a church far away and eight shadows rose out of the hole. Each one looked like the ghost of a king, with a crown on their head. Last of all came the ghost of Banquo, who was covered in blood. He pointed to the ghosts and Macbeth knew by the fatherly smile on his face that these were the descendants of Banquo whe would rule over Scotland.

Even as the witches danced on the air and vanished, Macbeth promised himself he would not let Banquo’s descendants rule. And

And from this moment on, his thoughts were full of murder and revenge.

Getting back to his castle, Lady Macbeth had dreadful news. Macduff had escaped to England. He had joined an army which was forming against them under King Malcolm the Eldest, who wanted to put his own son, the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland as king instead of Macbeth.

In a fit of rage and fear, Macbeth attacked Macduff’s castle, killing his wife and children.

throne.

Macbeth, stung with rage, set upon the castle of Macduff, and put his wife and children to the sword. Egged on by Lady Macbeth, he killed everyone who claimed they were friends with Macduff.

Within days, everyone in the kingdom turned against their king. Those who could fled and joined King Malcolm’s army in England.  With no friends left, Macbeth became bitter and obsessed. Lady Macbeth disappeared. It is said, unable to live with her guilt, she took her own life.  Others insist she died during a nightmare, for she had taken to sleepwalking in the night.”

Came the day when a soldier rushed into the castle. He was shaking with fear. “Sire,” he said. “I have seen something strange which I thought you should know about.”

“Come, man, speak, what is it?” said Macbeth.

“I was standing watch at my post on the hill when I saw Birnam Wood move.”

 “You lie,” screamed Macbeth. “Woods cannot move.”

“But this one did, sire,” said the soldier. “I swear it on my mother’s name.”

A great fear arose in Macbeth. He had been certain no one could harm him, for word and forests do not move, but here was a soldier claiming Birnam Woods were advancing towards his castle.

There was a simple explanation for what Macbeth took to be magic.  When the besieging army marched through the wood of Birnam, Malcolm, like a skilful general, instructed his soldiers to each cut down a branch and carry it before him to hide the army’s true numbers. Thus were the words of the spirit same to pass in a different way Macbeth had imagined.

Macbeth still had a few soldiers left in his army. He led them against King Malcolm’s men. The fighting was long and bloody. Macbeth, remembering the spirit’s words, tried to keep clear of Macduff. The Lord of Fife had other plans. He approached macbeth, calling him a fool, a murderer, a coward.

The words cut through Macbeth and he drew his sword. The fight didn’t take long. Macbeth, his evil deeds flashing before his eyes, fought like a savage beast but in the end, Macduff was victorious and Macbeth fell to the ground, surrounded by the boughs that had marched to Dunsinane

From that Fleance descended a race of monarchs who afterwards filled the Scottish throne, ending with James the Sixth of Scotland and the First of England, under whom the two crowns of England and Scotland were united.