THE LANGUAGE of the play was modernised to accommodate a secondary-school audience, and the geographical setting was changed from Scotland to Central Asia. Dr Christina DeCoursey, who adapted the script, explains: "Scotland today is very different from the society implied in Macbeth. There are no bloody power struggles between clans for royal power. Parts of Central Asia were this way, much more recently. Also, I already owned some beautiful Central Asian surcoats, so the choice was natural."

In Macbeth, two noblemen, Macbeth and Banquo, are returning from a victory in battle when they meet three witches, who predict that Macbeth will be king and Banquo will be the ancestor of kings. Macbeth realises that he will become king sooner and more surely if he kills the present king, Duncan. He writes to his wife about this, and the two of them plot the murder. When Duncan comes to their house, they murder him, and Macbeth does indeed become king. Macbeth's fear for the security of his kingship, however, haunts him and soon he has killed Banquo, and the family of another nobleman, Macduff. At the end of the play, Macduff returns from England with the army of Duncan's son, Malcolm. Macduff kills Macbeth, making Malcolm king.