Macbeth is a Scottish general who has been fighting for King Duncan.

Three witches tell Macbeth that he will become king of Scotland.

Macbeth is spurred by his ambition and his wife, and he murders Duncan and accedes to the throne.

His reign is bloody and tyrannical and ended by the combined forces of Scotland and England.Shakespeare's main source for the story was Holinshed's Chronicles, particularly its accounts of Macbeth and Macduff and Duncan, but events in the play differ extensively from events involving the historical Macbeth.

Events in Shakespeare's play are usually associated with Henry Garnet and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.In theatre Macbeth has been associated with a curse.

People have avoided speaking its title, calling it "The Scottish Play".

However, it has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the leading roles and has been adapted for multifarious other media.

It has been continuously in production since the 1660s