The story of Macbeth has been passed down and performed through generations, most recently in the current Performing Arts Department play, directed by Henry Schvey, a professor of drama and comparative literature. The show is entering the second weekend of its run in the Edison Theatre.

Fulfilling the prophecy of three wayward witches who appear to him in the forest, Macbeth, thane of Cawdor, becomes the king of Scotland—but not without first murdering King Duncan and the drunken chamberlains he ascribes to the deed at Lady Macbeth’s evil insistence. Macbeth, wracked simultaneously by guilt and the desire to outrun his fateful death, and Lady Macbeth, haunted by visions of blood on her hands, begin to alarm their friends. Only when Macduff seeks to avenge the death of his family—also at the hands of Macbeth—can the terrible saga be brought to a close and goodness returned to the throne in the form of Malcolm, Duncan’s son and the rightful heir to the Scottish crown.

Courtesy of Jerry Naunheim Jr.

Junior Hannah Marias, sophomore Brandon Krisko and first year graduate student Sam Gaitsch play the witches in Washington University’s Performing Arts Department’s production of “Macbeth.” The production finishes its two-weekend run in Edison Theatre this Sunday.

The Performing Arts Department (PAD) production, set in modern times, takes on a particularly intimate feel thanks to the onstage audience seating, placing viewers at arm’s length from the action. The visions of the witches in the forest surrounding Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth’s agony as he stumbles through his home, shaken by his murderous deed and Lady Macbeth’s mental delusion as she rubs her hands to rid them of the blood feel all the more real for their close proximity. Schvey wrote in his director’s note that he cut down the script, cut out the intermission, set the play in the present and removed the distance between actors and audience in order to “present the play’s irresistible, relentless journey in the most intimate and direct way possible.” There is no question that he achieves this directive mostly as a result of the close views of the actors’ faces, which are wracked with emotion as they encounter a series of cold-blooded murders.

Senior Josh Parrack, who plays Macbeth, is relentless in his desire to rid his mind of the faces of those he killed, stumbling toward the ghost image of his late friend Banquo as he becomes increasingly angered by her deathly silence. Scott Greenberg, a junior who plays Macduff, demonstrates a similar intensity of focus as he sets his mind on revenge, crying out “Let me find him, fortune!” in his search for the murderous Macbeth. But the crowning moment goes to sophomore Caroline Sullivan in her performance of Lady Macbeth, as she spirals down further and further into the endless black hole of insanity. She shakes her hands viciously, hoping to rid them of what she perceives to be a remaining spot of blood, her initial evilness having been replaced by a confused and guilty spirit. “What’s done cannot be undone—to bed, to bed, to bed!” she cries out, amid the seemingly endless agony that has overtaken her.

It is this complexity and ambiguity of character—Macbeth transformed from respected soldier to relentless murderer, and his wife from evil plotter to guilt-wracked lunatic—that dominates the play. In the world of Macbeth, where “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” good blends with evil, calling into question the morality of each character.

Schvey connects this moral ambiguity with the present political moment: “At a time when our country is deeply divided along partisan lines, it is useful to remember that no group has a monopoly on virtue—or on evil.” In a story like that of Macbeth, the audience can practically witness the blurred lines not only between good and evil, but also between guilt and pride, morality and desire.

The show will be performed in Edison Theatre March 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. and March 5 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at the Edison Theatre box office or online at edison.wustl.edu and range from $15 to $20.