Would you take your elem aged kids to see Macbeth?

[lovetobehome]

My local arts center is offering $5 student tickets for a matinee production of Macbeth. Live. I haven't read Macbeth since high school. I was going to take my 10yo DS and 8yo DD to see it, but am thinking now this might be a bad idea. What do y'all think? I bet some of you have read or watched it much more recently than I! I would very much appreciate your opinions!

 

Forgot to mention, I will also have to drag my 3yo along....

Edited October 13, 2010 by lovetobehome

[abbeyej]

Absolutely. I would and I have. ... But just because I would doesn't mean you should, necessarily. :)

 

The play opens with three witches. They are casting spells and when Macbeth and Banquo come along, they offer prophecies.

 

There are several murders during the play, some off stage and some on. How those are handled depends entirely on the local production. We've seen it with and without (lots of) blood.

 

Scenes between Macbeth and his wife may or may not be rather... passionate... depending on the production.

 

There are ghosts and the witches return.

 

Lady Macbeth goes mad.

 

A child and his mother are murdered (again, how that's handled varies *wildly* from one production to another).

 

There's a beheading at the end...

 

Hm... I guess when it comes to Shakespeare, my kids have been allowed to see a level of violence and innuendo that I would never allow in other circumstances. (The oldest was in a production of Richard III at 7yo, lol -- sooo not meant for children! And, of course, the 5yo watched the play at least five or six times...)

 

But yes, I would take an 8 and 10yo to see Macbeth. We would read a brief children's version of the play first, and, given the time, a longer version (with more lines lifted directly from the play) before going as well. We'd discuss who the characters were and the plot of the story, so that when they see the play, they can enjoy the production and the beauty of the language, rather than simply struggle to figure out what on earth is going on. :)

[suzf242]

I agree that it depends on your family. MacBeth is too dark for my dd8, and I don't plan to have her read it until high school. We are reading a number of the comedies (Lamb) this year which she does enjoy, and which I would definitely take her to see if I had the chance.

 

Take care,

Suzanne

[chiguirre]

I wouldn't because MacBeth is particularly bloody and spooky, but YMMV. You could always get a video at the library and preview yourself to see what you think before you buy the tickets.

[2_girls_mommy]

We actually studied MacBeth a little this year w/my 8 yr old. She read about it in SOTW2, then read some children's books of Shakespeare plays. There are a couple in cartoon form. She even memorized the famous "Tomorrow" speech per SOTW project.

 

But I wouldn't take her to see the play yet. I do think it is a little dark for her to see and experience in person just yet. Maybe in high school. I have been waiting for a more lighthearted Shakespeare production like a Midsummer Night's Dream to take her to.

[Little Nyssa]

I wouldn't.

[Pretty in Pink]

My oldest ds would have enjoyed it at age 10, but not at 8, and he's not very squeamish.

[oldskool]

We went to see it at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, but the production was modernized and made to be inappropriate. If it were straight Macbeth I would see it with a child who has theater experience. IMO, this would not be a good first play to see at that age. I was really disappointed in what we saw and have learned to call ahead to see if they have any age guidelines for particular shows. I'll never forget when my husband and my mom went to see King Lear (played by Ian McKellen) together and King Lear stripped down to nothing. My mom is hard of hearing and always gets seats right up front. DH said that was a very uncomfortable moment.:blush: Sooo glad the kids missed that one.

 

Lesley

[Caroline]

I would take my nine year old. He isn't squeamish, though. Hey, now I want to take him. Anyone in the Atlanta area know of a Macbeth production? I was unimpressed with Georgia Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew musical thing this summer, so don't send me back to them...

[Caitilin]

I am with AbbeyEJ--I would take mine in a minute. But they've had some exposure to other S'peare already. I would definitely take the time to read a child's version first so they can follow along better. :)

[Melinda in VT]

10 yo? Definitely.

 

8 yo? Probably, but possibly not for a sensitive child or one with a short attention span.

 

3 yo? Nope. Not on your life.

[abbeyej]

Oh, I just realized about the 3yo. I probably wouldn't do that. My oldest saw Macbeth at the theater for the first time right about the time he turned 5. But he's a particularly focused and studious child, he knew the story, and I had no doubts about his ability to behave himself during a live production. He also knew the story before we went in. ... There aren't many 3yos I would take to see a ~2 hour live Shakespeare production.

[HRAAB]

My twins saw Macbeth last summer at age 9. We read it first from Nesbitt's book before seeing the play. They enjoyed it and talked about it for the rest of the week. They're not very squeamish, though.

[Hericane]

MacBeth is my personal favorite Shakespearan play. But I won't take my children until they are teenagers. For one thing, the language of Shakespeare is so rich with subtle innuendos and humor that children will miss it. By itself, the language and word usage is so 'out of the normal' that kids will likely be bored and have trouble following the story.

(I likewise won't be taking my children to opera for the same reasons.)

If it's a children's version of Shakespeare done for Halloween, they've probably changed the script and made it great for kids...less gore but still spooky.

So which is it? Or maybe the better question: Who are they targeting with their advertisements/marketing: kids and families, or adults?

[lovetobehome]

Ok, I decided against it. I am spending all my extra time right now prepping DD for her first standardized test, on the 28th. I won't have time to prep them on Macbeth, so we'll just wait and do it another year! Thanks for your opinions, it helped a lot!

[pqr]

Without a doubt.

[KidsHappen]

Considering that the version my hubby and I went to had many scenes of brief passive nudity (per play bill), no, probably not. If we had been sitting any closer to the front, it would have been a lot less passive IYKWIM. ;)

[Slartibartfast]

I would. My dd would love it and she is nine.

[Karen in CO]

Yes. They would love it. They're both very familiar with the story. You might want to follow up with at least the Coville Macbeth to get more Shakepeare for your time.