Knoxville Children’s Theatre, in partnership with Clayton Foundation, will present 13 live performances of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Presented especially for the Halloween season, KCT’s version is a specially adapted two-hour version of the classic tragedy, geared for ages 12 and up.

The live stage play will be performed October 27 through November 11.

A brave soldier named Macbeth receives a prophecy that he will one day be King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth carries out a murderous plot, allowing him to seize the throne. But the couple are wracked with guilt and paranoia, which lead to darker and darker crimes, ushering the couple into the realm of madness.

Widely read in area high schools, Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is a cautionary tale about the damaging psychological effect of unchecked ambition.

The show is made possible through support from an Arts Project Support grant by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

The play is performed by 19 talented young actors, from ages 12 to 17. Dale Gross, a student at Sweetwater High, will portray the doomed Macbeth, and Lauren Rymer, a student at Bearden High, plays Lady Macbeth.

The rest of the cast includes KCT veterans: Austin Bishop, Ava Bradshaw, Reece Brown, Draven Copeland, Lily Kate Corley, Maria Kauffman, Eric Magee, Alex Montgomery, Lauren Norton, Bella Patterson, Elijah Payne, Lydia Pulsinelli, Brycen Ritchie, Emma Stark, Allison Strong, Kennis Van Dyke, and Averi Waller.

KCT Academy Director Dennis E. Perkins will direct the production. Local fight choreographer Carolyn Corley is the combat director. High school student Charlotte Stark serves as Assistant Director and Lighting Designer. Boone Sommers, a West High student, provides the scenery design. Three teens, Emma Stark, Averi Waller, and Ava Bradshaw will complete the costume design. Grant Trivette, a Powell High student, is the play’s stage manager.

KCT is East Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children.