Daggers Drawn

An exploration of Julius Caesar and Macbeth for secondary students

This script focusses on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Macbeth.

Four Actors wrestle with themes raised by both plays as they discover Shakespeare’s world, language, characters and theatricality.

The script looks at the dilemmas facing the central characters in both plays and how they go about resolving those dilemmas. It examines the consequences of the characters actions and how they affect the world of each play. The Actors enter scenes to explore the playing of scenes and the inherent theatricality of both plays.

They examine the language in detail and how delivery of the language informs the action and the characters. Issues such as cross casting are discussed as is the nature of the Elizabethan world.

Style: A contemporary examination of Shakespeare

Length: 45 minutes

Casting notes: Flexible cast options for a classroom context: four students could play the designated actors with additional students playing the Shakespearean characters.

Cast age: 12 to 16, 16 to 18

Audience age: teen, young adult

Publisher: Australian Script Centre