No curse as Macbeth goes home

The play was performed in the grounds of the castle

A Scottish theatre company has been making history by becoming the first to perform Macbeth at Cawdor Castle, home of the real-life Thane of Cawdor.

In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor on his rise to being King of Scotland, as predicted by three "weird sisters" in the first act.

The "Scottish play", as it is often called, is notorious for the superstitions attached to it, possibly due to the spell cast by the witches in its opening scene.

But Edinburgh-based Cutting Edge Theatre has been happy to tempt fate with two performances in the grounds of the castle.

Suzanne Lofthus: "Like bringing it home"

The theatre company, formed in 1995, performed its first show at Cawdor Castle, near Inverness, on Sunday evening.

Despite the superstition attached to the play in theatrical circles, director Suzanne Lofthus said the first performance went without a hitch.

"There have been a few people who won't even say the word Macbeth, but we've been fine. Nothing untoward at all," she said.

The play about ambition, regicide and guilt is associated with numerous places throughout Scotland but many academics have pointed to Cawdor as the location of the murder of King Duncan.

The real Macbeth was "Thane of Cawdor" and became King of Scotland after the death of Duncan in the 11th century.

Shakespeare's play was inaccurate

In the Shakespeare play, written in 1606, the murder of Duncan takes place in Inverness Castle, but it is often associated with Cawdor Castle, near Nairn, Inverness-shire.

However, Cawdor Castle was not built until the late 14th century and so could not have been where King Duncan's blood was spilt.

Ms Lofthus said the theatre company's intention was to bring Shakespeare's character closer to its Scottish roots.

She said: "What we tried to do as a company was to link elements of the real King Macbeth a bit closer to Shakespeare's Macbeth, because they are very different.

"To bring it to Cawdor is almost like bringing it home. It was quite exciting to bring it here."

Local chieftains

The present-day Lord Cawdor, 39, the 25th Thane of Cawdor, was persuaded to allow the castle to be used for the performances.

They are being held outdoors in a location by the Cawdor woods and also in front of the castle.

The Thanes of Cawdor were local chieftains.

The real Macbeth became King of Scotland after the death of Duncan but was killed at Lumphanan in what is now Aberdeenshire and buried on the island of Iona.

Shakespeare's version was based on the work of the 16th-century English historian Raphael Hollinshead.