Mmmbeth

A hilarious gender-bending take on the Scottish play!

Everything goes wrong. The witches take over the storytelling, Queen Duncan would rather open a donut franchise than die, Lady M's a bloodthirsty June Cleaver, and the murderers are preoccupied with creating a commercial for their services.

Premiered at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival!

Comedy Classical Adaptation Shakespeare

Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

Also available in a competition-length version here.

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

Running Time

About 45 minutes

Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes

Cast

10 Characters

5 F 5 Any Gender

Easily Expandable

Set

Simple Set

Length

43 pages

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Free Excerpt

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

10 Characters

5 Females
5 Any Gender
Easily Expandable

MMMBETH 80 lines

Any gender Easily frustrated Thane of Cawdor. One Monologue.
LADY MMMBETH 66 lines

Female A gentle housewife… at first. Two Monologues.
BANQUO 31 lines

Any gender Mmmbeth’s best friend. Thinks something’s rotten in the State of Scotland.
MACDUFF / SON OF MACDUFF 37, 10 lines

Any gender Knows something’s rotten in the State of Scotland / Played by MacDuff
QUEEN DUNCAN 19 lines

Female Brilliant, misunderstood, and refuses to die.
DAPHNE / DOCTOR 53, 8 lines

Female The smart witch / Played by Daphne
DORIS / GENTLEWOMAN 42, 3 lines

Female The sly witch / Played by Doris
TWIT / GENTLEWOMAN 55, 2 lines

Female The dumb witch / Played by Twit
MURDERER ONE / SOLDIER 31, 9 lines

Any gender Eager to help dispose of inconvenient obstacles to the throne, like heirs and suspicious thanes. / Behind the door when the brains were passed out.
HECATE / MURDERER TWO / SOLDIER 11, 34, 8 lines

Any gender Big Mama Hecate, head of the witches and a blues queen. / Eager to help dispose of inconvenient obstacles to the throne, like heirs and suspicious thanes. One Monologue. / Behind the door when the brains were passed out.
MARATHON RUNNERS

Played by the cast.

Praise for Mmmbeth

Cassia Sollitt

Prince of Peace

We love having our drama students perform plays by Allison Williams. Such a fun way to introduce students to Shakespeare! She seamlessly blends lines from the original plays with modern language, creating something that’s both accessible and highly entertaining.

Claire Moulds

Bristol Academy of Drama

A really fun interpretation of the play. Kids and parents loved it and it went down really well. A really great way to explore Shakespeare in an accessible way.

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