The document provides background information on William Shakespeare and his career as a playwright in Elizabethan England. It discusses how Shakespeare wrote plays for Queen Elizabeth and King James that were performed by his acting company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men. It also summarizes the plot of Macbeth and mentions some of the superstitions surrounding references to the play. Finally, it briefly outlines Shakespeare's life and legacy, as well as adaptations and performances of his plays over time.

1. Elizabethan England Fun With Will Shakespeare

5. Shakespeare wrote a play for James … Macbeth . James was not impressed and walked out of the first performance, setting into motion what has been called the “Macbeth curse.”

7. To this day, actors will not call the play by name, but only refer to it as “that Scottish play.” If an actor DOES say the play’s name out loud, they are forced to leave the building, turn around three times and spit in order to remove the curse.

12. Shakespeare’s family

17. Good frend for Jesus sake forebeare, to digg the dust encloased heare, Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones, And curst be he yt moves my bones. Shakespeare’s epitaph Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England

23. The Globe Theatre

24. The Globe then . . . And now . . .

26. This sketch was made by DeWitt in a letter sent to a friend. It is actually a picture of the stage of the Swan.

27. The Globe from across the Thames

28. New Globe' Company members of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London assemble for a group picture on the newly completed stage. The theater is a thoroughly researched reproduction of the original 16th Century structure which stood on the same site. The Globe's actor-led company is drawn from Britain and America and will officially open its season with Shakespeare's Henry V on June 14.

29. The reconstructed stage

30. Johann Zoffany. David Garrick and Mrs. Pritchard in "Macbeth ," 1768. Oil on canvas, approximately 38.5 x 48.5 inches. Garrick Club, London

31. Alexandre-Marie Colin. The Three Witches from "Macbeth ," 1827.

32. Steel engraving, approximately 6.5 x 9.5 inches, by C. W. Sharpe. The engraving is from Charles Knight's two-volume Imperial Edition of The Works of Shakespere (London: Virtue and Company, 1873-76). Alexander Johnston. Macbeth.

33. Maggie Smith as Lady Macbeth

34. Sean Bean and Samantha Bond in a 2004 London stage production of Macbeth. Note the modern dress.

35. Three witches and Macbeth Clare Swinburne , Alexandra Moen, Jayne McKenna, Sean Bean

36. Bloody child apparition from Bean/Bond production

37. Earliest Broadway production May 3, 1768 Orson Welles also did a Broadway production in spring 1936; had 56 perfomances. His most famous Macbeth was a film he made….

38. Orson Welles as Macbeth – a subtitled movie production he starred in as well as directed

39. Had expression in silent films: One made every year for four years: 1 st Italians 2 nd French 3 rd English 4 th Americans