A CHAOTICALLY condensed version of one of the Bard's great works opens at Swindon Arts next week. Prime Theatre (previously Sixth Sense Theatre) presents the world premiere of The Macbeth Curse, the hilarious new play by Horrible Histories creator and acclaimed author of over 250 books, Terry Deary.

The Macbeth Curse follows arrogant Sir Alphonse King and his Sixty Minute Shakespeare Ensemble as they begin rehearsals of Macbeth and find themselves struggling against spookily unexpected circumstances.

With actors missing, props breaking in their hands, and ghostly goings on, the entire troupe begin to fear the worst…have they fallen foul of the infamous Macbeth Curse?

This condensed version of Shakespeare’s own words uses cutting-edge Edwardian theatricality at its finest; integrating music hall songs, silent movie film and magic lantern projection in the candid, side-splitting style of Terry Deary.

Mr Deary, whose work has been translated into over 40 languages, said: “Shakespeare wrote for the stage. He wrote to entertain audiences of all ages and classes. If he failed he’d be out of work. He didn’t write so the whining schoolboy, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school, could study, dissect, learn and be tested on his words. He’d be disappointed by the sleepy classroom lessons. He wrote so we could be entertained. He transported his audiences to other worlds using the magic of theatre.

The Macbeth Curse is a fun way of exploring both one of Shakespeare’s great stories and some of the artifices that theatre has used to make the world of fantasy into a world of fascination.”

Prime Theatre’s artistic director Mark Powell said: “In 2016, Prime Theatre is celebrating 30 years of work with young people and we wanted to work with a playwright that they would be excited about too. "Knowing it would be a show about Shakespeare, I considered who knew about history but also had the wit and imagination to capture new, young theatregoers instantaneously, Terry Deary immediately sprung to mind.”

The Macbeth Curse is suitable for audiences aged 7- 107 and can be seen at Swindon Arts Centre from Monday21 - Tuesday 22 March. For more information and to book tickets, visit swindontheatres.co.uk or call Ticket Office on 01793 524481.

http://bit.ly/MacbethCurse