Flipping Macbeth: PTSD, gender, and generation in adaptations by Wolfert, Kurzel, and De Man

Abstract

In recent adaptations by Justin Kurzel and Lucas de Man, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is less a play about a courageous warrior driven to murder his king out of ambition than about a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. This article links these interpretations of Macbeth’s motivation to Stephan Wolfert’s one-man show Cry Havoc!!, which also relates Shakespeare’s plays in general to combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. This article argues that all three productions are symptomatic of our era in addressing Macbeth from the perspective of current constructions of masculinity as deeply problematic.