Actors from the London Stage perform 'Macbeth' this Halloween at Schwab

Witches and dark deeds haunt this Halloween season when Actors from the London Stage stir up a boiling cauldron of trouble in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in two shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, in Schwab Auditorium, University Park.

The five thespians come from Britain's leading theater companies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre of Great Britain and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. They take on two or three major roles and several minor ones. By using minimal sets and costumes, the actors ask audiences to be imaginatively engaged in the performance, just as Shakespeare intended.

Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $26 for adults, $10 for University Park students and $16 for people 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at http://www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial (800) ARTS-TIX. Tickets are on sale at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium, Penn State Tickets Downtown, HUB-Robeson Center and Bryce Jordan Center.

"Macbeth" is about a Scottish general fascinated by the possibility he will be crowned king and the general's wife, who convinces her husband to murder the king currently on the throne. The shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, "Macbeth" was written in the first few years of the 17th century. Surrounded by superstition, the play is often viewed as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ambition and the lust for power. Actors have traditionally avoided referring to the play by title when in a theater. The actors performing "Macbeth" work without a director, which requires each performer to be responsible for the whole play and even more collaborative than usual. The cast features Charlotte Allam, Will Ashcroft, Chris Donnelly, Dan Winter and Brigid Zengeni.

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring a visiting artist or local expert, is offered in Schwab Auditorium one hour before each performance and is free for ticket holders.