This weekend, student-run theater company Shakespeare on the Lawn presented their adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Student Activities Building, featuring outstanding performances that told a classic and exciting story. The Contracted Independent Organization offers a large semesterly classical theater show among smaller projects including lectures by members and scenes from classically inspired plays. Since their inaugural performance of Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” in 1995, their casts have showcased renditions of many of the English playwright’s classical productions on Grounds free of charge.
Fourth-year College student Kelly Dunne directed the rendition of “Macbeth” — a Shakespearean tragedy written in the early 17th century that follows nobleman Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth after a group of three witches tell him he is fated to be king of Scotland. Dunne, along with Campbell Kirby, artistic director of the play and Batten student, produced a spectacle that roused audiences with passionate sword fights and lamenting monologues. “Macbeth” featured standout performances from third-year College student Claudia Hunn, who played Macbeth, and third-year College student Maggie Byrd, who played Lady Macbeth.
The show’s stage was oriented like a traditional Shakespearean theater, creating a sense of intimacy between the audience and the actors. The crowd surrounded the actors on all three sides, who performed just a few feet from audience members. Caitlin Lee, audience member and second-year College student, said that the set contributed to the show's intensity.
“The stage in general, the aura they put into it [and] the aesthetic of the show really brought the acting and everything else together,” Lee said.
“Macbeth” began with three witches — played by third-year College student Kate Hovey, second-year College student Daniel Kilmartin and third-year College student Ryan Isaac Kriel — moving across the stage with an otherworldly, jolting gait. The trio was dressed fully in black, with dark makeup that maintained their unnerving performance each time they took the stage. Their opening act set the stage for the intense, fervent acting the rest of the cast also exhibited.
Following the witches' introduction and a subsequent battle scene, the audience met Macbeth as he returned from battle. Hunn and Byrd’s performances and onstage chemistry was evident from their first scene together. Kirby said that emphasizing “Macbeth’s” tragedy was essential in Shakespeare on the Lawn’s preparation process.
“We wanted it to be a really emotive show. We wanted our audience to feel the things that the characters are feeling,” Kirby said. “I think our cast did a really fantastic job at that.”
Through their dynamic stage presences, emotive expressions and charged line delivery, Hunn and Byrd captured Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s fraught relationship through particularly moving scenes such as their rendezvous after Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan. Third-year College student Kristin Tidey said that because Shakespeare is performed in Old English that can be difficult for audiences to understand, line delivery, emotion and body language is essential to communicate Shakespearean tales effectively.
“I feel like a lot of times Shakespeare is hard to understand, but I think that the way they acted and portrayed the play was really good,” Tidey said. “I always [wanted] to see what happened next.”
Other highlights from “Macbeth” included first-year College student Charles Dorsey’s humorous portrayal of the drunken Porter — a rendition that elicited laughter throughout the crowd — and choreographed sword fights that led to dramatic on-stage deaths. “Macbeth’s” intense final minutes set the stage for the entire cast to demonstrate their abilities, with Byrd’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s final moments and fourth-year College student Jake Wasserberg’s performance as Lord Macduff providing particularly emphatic line deliveries. When the lights went down at the play’s conclusion, the audience rose for a standing ovation.
As artistic director, Kirby was behind Shakespeare on the Lawn’s choice to put on “Macbeth” as this semester’s grander performance. Kirby emphasized the story’s continued potency despite its age, and drew connections between its message and her modern experience.
“It's a story about the danger of political violence, about the cyclical nature of political violence,” she said. “I think that that's something that's kind of salient these days, and so I thought it was a really important story to tell.”
After another successful show, Shakespeare on the Lawn is looking forward to their Fall 2026 production, slated to be the comedy titled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Kirby, who is in her final semester at Shakespeare on the Lawn, encouraged the University and Charlottesville community to engage with the company next semester.
“If you're a student, come audition, come and reach out to our crew,” Kirby said. “We love bringing people on regardless of what theater experience they have. If you're a community member, come stop by one of our shows.”
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