Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606. It is frequently performed at both amateur and professional levels, and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and screen. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of King Macbeth of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed and that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece. There are many superstitions centred on the belief the play is somehow "cursed", and many actors will not mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish play".

シェイクスピアが遺した最短にして最も濃密な悲劇である本作の本質は、権力欲という名の亡霊に憑りつかれた人間の、自己崩壊のプロセスを鮮烈に描き出した点にあります。言葉の一つひとつがナイフのように研ぎ澄まされ、運命に抗おうと足掻くほどに罪の深淵へ堕ちていく峻烈な心理描写は、時代を超えて読む者の魂を激しく揺さぶる凄まじい熱量を持っています。 幾度も映像化されている本作ですが、活字が呼び起こす深い内的独白と、映像が具現化する血塗られた視覚美の対比こそが醍醐味です。舞台上の呪いという伝説すら飲み込むほどの不気味な魔女の予言や、実写化で補完される残酷なまでのリアリズムは、原作の持つ重厚なテーマをより立体的に増幅させ、鑑賞者に逃げ場のない畏怖と興奮を与え続けるのです。