The concept is original and the execution brilliant. This is Dr Seuss meets Shakespeare, with all the joy of the former meshed with all the intrigue of the latter. —David Crystal, author of Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion and Let's Talk: How English Conversation Works

First Witch: Welcome to the Scottish play
Second Witch: It's "Scottish" 'cos it rains all day
Third Witch: It's cold enough to see your breath
First Witch: We're waiting here to see Macbeth.
Second Witch: Hanging out in bogs and ditches
Third Witch: Yes you've guessed it; we're the witches!
First witch: We're here to guide you all the way
Second witch: Because we know the end of the play

The Silly Shakespeare for Students edition of Shakespeare's Macbeth simplifies the famous tragedy without dumbing it down. It's perfect for introducing students to the Bard and helping English Language Learners practice speaking and oracy skills while grappling with the classics.

Author Paul Leonard Murray, director of the Belgrade English Language Theater, has cut the play down to an hour or so and made the language more accessible. But he's kept all the tragic parts while adding some jokes. And if you think jokes in a version of Macbeth is weird, the whole thing is also written in rhyming couplets. Production notes and a summary of the play make putting on Shakespeare easy and fun, even if you've never done drama in class before!

Looking for something different for drama club, student theater, or speaking class? Want to spice up your literature or reading class and give students a new appreciation for Shakespeare? This is the series for you.

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"On the surface, they are simple and accessible but they require the students to really work with metre and rhythm and to think about recognising and delivering to an audience. For this reason they are a great introduction to the demands of Shakespearean text but also exciting, bombastic, rhythmic pieces in themselves".
— Gordon Murray, Director, Blue Tongue Theatre Company

"I've been lucky enough to read three of the resources in this series – consistently engaging, humorous, easy to read and well-graded. I am genuinely trying to hold back the praise with this one – these are top notch resources."
— Peter Clements, blogger at ELTPlanning and co-author of Start Up

"Shakespeare can be hard to understand but this book tells the same story but in a way that is easier to understand. Great for students and teachers."
— Rhonda, Goodreads Reviewer

"This version of the play keeps the rhyming but simplifies the language so the story itself becomes the focus."
— Suzanne Hare, Goodreads Reviewer