A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY
1969, the day before Christmas.
A storm approaches.
SCENE 1: WAITING. In a rural hospital in Middle America, three Nurses on break prepare for their daily rounds; in particular the arrival of their newest patient—a soldier named Macbeth.
SCENE 2: REUNION. Macbeth is reunited with Banquo, a fellow platoon member. Recounting the battle, Banquo is overcome by an anxiety attack. As the nurses minister to Banquo, they flirt with Macbeth, greeting him with the titles Thane of Cawdor and King. As the nurses go, they leave Banquo with ‘your children shall be kings, though thou be none.’ Nurse One arrives with a telegram informing Macbeth that the King has made him Thane of Cawdor, as prophesied.
SCENE 3: LUST. Later that night. Macbeth and Nurse Two—who is his wife—sit silently in bed. He reveals the telegram naming him Thane of Cawdor. She reveals that the King, Duncan, is coming to the hospital the next day. She begins to plan the King’s murder, assured by the telegram that the prophesies are true.
SCENE 4: HONOR. The next day. Duncan arrives, praising Macbeth. Not expecting the second soldier, the King turns to Banquo and greets him with honor. They embrace and begin to exit as thunder shakes the walls. The storm has descended. The King has to spend the night and invites all to party.
SCENE 5: CELEBRATION. That night. Uncomfortable with the festivities, Macbeth excuses himself. Unable to justify the murder after Duncan’s recent graciousness, he decides against it as his wife appears. She mentions the child that the couple lost, that she suffered and is owed this—and that if he loves her, he will murder the King. Macbeth surrenders...
SCENE 6: NIGHT. Late that same night. Macbeth readies for the night’s deed as Banquo exits to bed. Macbeth leaves as the Second Nurse enters having drugged the King’s men. Macbeth returns with bloody hands and they exit as there is a knocking of a door... The Third Nurse, pregnant and hung over, lets in the First Nurse, locked out by accident. She exits to rouse the King, and discovers him murdered. Banquo vows to uncover the villains responsible.
SCENE 7: SUSPICION. Early the next morning. The King’s body has been carried to the morgue. Banquo is suspicious of Macbeth and mentions his misgivings, but Macbeth neither confesses nor denies. Macbeth is beset by a vision of a dagger and concludes that Banquo must die. Macbeth exits and is confronted by the Second Nurse upon his return. An alert is sounded; Banquo—coughing blood—is wheeled into the ward…
SCENE 8: FEAR. The Third Nurse is on the phone, speaking with growing anxiety about the recent events at the hospital. “Hither Macduff” she pleads, asking her husband to come to her aid.
SCENE 9: GHOST. Macbeth’s behavior is at odds with the loss of Banquo. The Second Nurse enters with food and invites her husband to eat, but he starts, suddenly seeing the ghost of Banquo. The Nurses, seeing nothing, grow more concerned as Macbeth’s hallucination continues. The Second Nurse attempts to convince them that Macbeth is deeply troubled over Banquo’s death, asking them to leave him in her care. The First Nurse—watching from afar—orders a change in treatment.
SCENE 10: CURE. A Nightmare. Macbeth, drugged for electroshock therapy, experiences the three Nurses as witches calling forth apparitions with each shock. Prophecies are foretold warning of Macduff and a moving forest, which trigger in Macbeth a memory of battle and Banquo marching through the jungle. After the procedure, the Second Nurse is left to care for him: it quickly becomes apparent that the treatment has, rather than cured the man, unleashed the monster within him.
SCENE 11: TRAITOR. Nurse Three is attempting to reach her husband, but the lines are down. The Second Nurse appears, warning of an approaching danger, pleading with Nurse Three to flee; but being pregnant, she is unable to run. Macbeth enters, interrogating her about her husband’s whereabouts. She strikes him and tries to run... A pounding at the door... Macduff arrives…
SCENE 12: BLOOD. Macduff and the First Nurse speak briefly of the state of the country. The Second Nurse wanders in, awake, yet asleep. She speaks of things so horrible that Macduff wakes her. He asks her of his family: the horror of what happened dawns upon him. He vows to kill Macbeth.
SCENE 13: HAUNTING. Macbeth is in the midst of a disassociative event—believing himself under siege, he is haunted. He hears ‘the cry of women’ and discovers that his wife has killed herself. Fearing his own end, he murders the First Nurse to prove the prophecy that no one of woman born can harm him. Macduff arrives. They fight; and it is revealed that ‘Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely rip’d.’ Macbeth, rather than surrender, fights on, challenging the prophesy…
EPILOGUE: MOURNING. Three Nurses on break. One watches the television and informs another that her son has died in battle. They mourn his passing, but pay respect to the fact that he served his country well and died bravely.