ATHENS – The Athenian Players of Athens State University present their production of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. This play, directed by Assistant Professor of Drama, Dr. Hugh Long, will be the third performance staged in the newly renovated McCandless Hall on the Athens State Campus.
The Shakespearean tragedy is considered one of his darkest and most powerful works. Set in Scotland, the play dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when evil is chosen as a way to fulfill the ambition for power.
The play is believed to have been written between 1599 and 1606, during the reign of James I before he succeeded to the English throne in 1603. James was a patron of Shakespeare’s acting company, and of all the plays Shakespeare wrote during James’s reign, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright’s relationship with the sovereign.
Performances will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday November 13, 14 and 15 and Thursday, Friday and Saturday 
November 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance will be held on Sunday November 16 at 2:00 p.m. Admission will be charged at the door and is $10.00 per person, $7.00 for students and seniors.
“With the Halloween season recently upon us” states Long, “And the popular ghost stories about McCandless Hall, it seemed only fitting that we stage Shakespeare’s most haunting tale of witches, ghosts, prophecies, and murder. Most of all we decided to be revolutionary and set Macbeth in medieval Scotland, if anything to show off our claymore stage combat skills.”
Dr. Kimberly Jack will design costumes; Tracy Szappan will serve as Stage Manager; and Victoria Cochran as Technical Director.
More information can be found at www.athens.edu/athenianplayers.
MEDIA RELEASE/ ATHENS STATE UNIVERSITY/GUY MCCLURE, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
