Final Blog

This is a performance of Macbeth done by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. What they do is they take an entire Shakespeare play and they condense it down into one small sketch. They also pay it out for comedic effects. I first learned of these people when I was a freshman in college and they were hilarious.

What makes this video, and this company, important is the fact that to all the people who are afraid of Shakespeare or they just are not into him, will be able to still learn about him and his plays through this company. By re-performing the plays in a small amount of time, they are making his plays easier to understand or more approachable for many people. When many people hear Shakespeare they might think difficult to understand language and bad clothes/costumes. They will completely miss the point of his plays and just how universal they are.

By performing these short scenes to comedic effects, the people that were once put off by Shakespeare, will find it funny and they may begin to notice the universal themes that many people can relate to - love, betrayal, comedy, lust, revenge, guilt, murder...etc. They will be more enticed to read his plays and they may find Shakespeare much more approachable because of this company.