Macbeth for kids is a tale full of sound and fury

For its eighth tour to the UAE, the United Kingdom-based theatre group Shakespeare 4 Kidz will perform the Bard’s dark play, Macbeth, tomorrow at Ductac, Dubai.

The story of a Scottish general and his pursuit of the crown, which consumes him and leads to murder and eventually his own death, has been simplified into “a thrilling musical adaptation”.

“We start with the language and create a ‘translation’ that most English-speaking schoolchildren can engage with and understand,” says Julian Chenery, the pro­ducer at Shakespeare 4 Kidz, which aims to make the works of the 16th-century English poet and playwright more accessible to children. “The addition of catchy songs helps hook attention and keeps the younger audiences engaged. The most important thing is that the audience understand the dialogue – if they don’t, you’ve lost them.” He says the story is made thrilling with witches, battles and ghosts in a fast-moving theatrical style.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz first produced Macbeth in 2000. The title character is played by Noel Andrew Harron, who has featured in The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet, which have been staged in Qatar, Bahrain and Syria.

Chenery says the original idea was to create something that would get schoolchildren hooked on Shakespeare. “We did this by creating easy-to-understand musical adaptations that could be performed as plays,” he explains, adding that Shakespeare’s gripping storytelling style makes his work still relevant to the 21st-century reader.

The group also hosts education programmes and performing arts workshops in schools.

“Over the past 18 years, these productions have been performed by schools in every English-speaking country in the world,” says Chenery.

The theatre company, which performed in London and Oman last month, held several shows for UAE schoolchildren earlier this week.

“Expect drama, humour, songs, dance and sword fights,” says Chenery.

• Macbeth will be performed on Thursday at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. Tickets cost Dh150. Call 04 341 4777 to book

aahmed@thenational.ae