We are delighted to announce our newest Shakespeare show that will tour schools directly for the 2025-26 school year:
The Madness of MacbetH
Based on
the Tragedy of Macbeth
by William ShakespearE
Adaptation and new material
by Cyclone founder Dr. Peadar Donohoe
Premise: Some scholars argue that Macbeth descended into Madness in his pursuit of power. Cyclone Rep's adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic puts forward the arguments towards and against this theory.
In The Madness of Macbeth Marcus Bale asks questions about the eponymous anti-hero: Did he know what he was doing every single step of the way or was he driven mad? What about the supernatural creatures and events? Did they drive Macbeth over the edge? Did the witches’ prophecies - which all come to pass - drive him to insanity? And don’t forget his best friend Banquo, who Macbeth has murdered, comes back to haunt him! Drenched in blood! Wouldn’t that drive anyone crazy! Or do they all combine to fuel the corrupt downward spiral of a tyrannical king?
Using the theme of Madness as a counterpoint, the audience is taken through the plot of the play with key performances intertwined with discussions on Ambition, Corruption, Fate, Kingship, Guilt, the Power of Lady Macbeth, the Pressures of the Patriarchal World and The Supernatural. As always, this Shakespeare Session will feature excellent performances with a dose of humour that will help students to excel in the English exam, which can be attested from the teacher and student reviews of past Macbeth Sessions that you can find below (names withheld for GDPR and child protection):
““Very well put together - great balance of exam-related questions and content.”
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““Cyclone presented students with an accessible, exam-focussed production. Plenty of audience involvement kept students engaged. Excellent acting and stagecraft. Plenty of room for debate back in the classroom””
““It was brilliant! Every Leaving Cert teacher should bring their students. It should be mandatory.”
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““The themes…the acting… the symbolic ideas… the funny moments really did make quite an impact on our learning of the play.”
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As with all our productions, a comprehensive Resource Handout will be designed specifically for this show with theme and character analyses, activities and plenty of useful information for your students.