Free Masterclass: Tuesday 28 October, 6pm (UK): a free 30-minute masterclass to kick things off.
If your teenager is muttering about daggers, witches, and the general futility of existence, it’s not just adolescence. Well, it could be. But it’s also Macbeth season.
Every November, schools across the land dust off Shakespeare’s bleakest domestic tragedy and ask Year 10s and 11s to contemplate regicide before first break. And the timing? Impeccable. The clocks have gone back, it’s pitch black by 4.30, and the houseplants are dying at roughly the same rate as Macbeth’s moral compass. Britain is basically set-dressed for Act 5.
So why does Macbeth matter now? Because ambition and downfall aren’t confined to medieval Scotland. They’re splashed across the headlines: one minute you’re the next-best-thing, the next you’re pacing the corridor like Lady Macbeth at 3 a.m. Shakespeare shows how power corrodes, guilt gnaws, and how nobody - least of all Macbeth - is quite as in control of their destiny as they think.
Sound familiar? Exactly.
This November, I’m running a series of small-group online classes to help GCSE students master Macbeth - cutting through the confusion, sharpening essay skills, and building real confidence with the play.
November small-group sessions (online)
Every Tuesday at 6 - 7pm (UK): one-hour, thematic small-group classes designed to help students:
* Cut through the waffle and actually understand what’s happening in the play.
* Plan and write essays that are conceptual, clear, and examiner-pleasing.
* Analyse the language and structure of the play without retelling the plot.
* Connect ambition, fate and guilt to real-world contexts so ideas stick.
Revision isn’t just memorising quotes (though we’ll bank the best ones); it’s understanding why they matter, then wielding them like Macbeth’s sword, with less bloodshed and far better exam technique.
Fair is foul, foul is fair… but solid, conceptual Macbeth understanding is always worth fighting for.
To book the free masterclass or reserve a spot for November, email thelanglitstudio@gmail.com.
