Lovett Auditorium’s doors are open with a classic Shakespearean tragedy free of charge for Murray State students, regional schools and the general public alike.
The 25th Annual Murray Shakespeare Festival’s main event is “Macbeth,” performed by a troupe of Kentucky Shakespeare actors. Operated out of Louisville, Kentucky Shakespeare performs in local park amphitheaters and at schools around the state. The mission statement of this non-profit charity organization is to, “enrich communities through accessible, inclusive, professional theatre experiences that educate, inspire, and entertain diverse audiences,” according to kyshakespeare.com
William “Rusty” Jones, English department chair, has overseen the Shakespeare Festival since 2010. He said this event’s biggest impact is aiding the curriculum of regional middle schools and high schools where students are taught Shakespeare as literature but cannot always experience it as art.
“Because ‘Macbeth’ features so strongly in Kentucky’s curriculum, we decided to offer free tickets to everybody,” Jones said. “The goal is to continue seeking out funding sources so we can either make the tickets free or keep them at such a low fee it stays accessible.”
Jones said regional students often enter Lovett Auditorium dreading two hours of boredom, yet they leave energized and engaged in conversations about plots and characters that felt deeper in the performance than the script.
Murray State students in English and humanities courses may also recognize popular Shakespeare titles hosted by the festival each year, particularly those who have taken English 334, a spring semester course dedicated to Shakespeare.
Shannon Eaton, a Murray State alum who took Jones’s English 334 course, saw “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Hamlet” during her time at Murray State. In the spring of 2020, Eaton worked on the other Shakespeare Festival events held that year. She and fellow alum Gabby Sullivan ran stations where students learned Shakespearian insults and foam sword dueling. She said those events help make Shakespeare more fun and relatable.
“Having the Shakespeare Festival, where students can experience the plays in a more relatable platform that allows for talk-backs with the actors, increases the chances of students actually connecting to the text,” Eaton said.
“Macbeth” is loosely based on a real Scottish lord who ruled as king from 1040 to 1057. In the play, Macbeth and his friend Lord Banquo encounter three witches who prophesize Macbeth’s ascendance to the throne of Scotland. He betrays King Duncan, who he had loyally served as a captain in the army, with encouragement from his wife, Lady Macbeth. As the plot unfolds, the couple descend into a spiral of evil acts and madness as their crimes haunt them.
Jones said “Macbeth” is made more interesting by the fact that Shakespeare’s company would have performed it for King James I, a Scottish royal with familial ties to the play’s mythic history.
“James would have loved this play because it’s about an ancient enemy of James’ own family,” he said. “Another thing people might find interesting is James was a fanatic about witches. So to see a play that features witches, the supernatural and Scottish myth so strongly, James would have just eaten it up.”
“Macbeth” plays at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 5 and Thursday, March 6; 7 p.m. on Friday, March 7; and 2 p.m. Saturday, March 8.
For more information about how to support the Murray Shakespeare Festival, contact Kala Dunn, development coordinator, at 270.809.3940.
