Shakespeare

Eines Nachts begegnet der tapfere und angesehene Feldherr Macbeth in der Heide drei Hexen, die ihm prophezeien, dass er König von Schottland werden wird. Zunächst skeptisch, wird er von den skrupellosen, zielstrebigen Ambitionen Lady Macbeths angetrieben, die keinen Zweifel ihres Mannes teilt. Doch die Prophezeiung bis zu ihrem blutigen Ende zu erfüllen, führt beide in einen Strudel aus Paranoia, Tyrannei, Wahnsinn und Mord. Diese erschütternde Tragödie – eine gewaltsame Warnung an jene, die Macht um ihrer selbst willen suchen – ist bis heute eines von Shakespeares beliebtesten und einflussreichsten Meisterwerken.

Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start—Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny.

Named for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, Twelfth Night plays with love and power. The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and enters Orsino’s service. Orsino sends her as his envoy to Olivia—only to have Olivia fall in love with the messenger. The play complicates, then wonderfully untangles, these relationships.