Macbeth


A play in Five Acts - gross in parts

Warning: This play is the result of indulging a perverse imagination. Indulgence is requested from the reader too.

Dramatis personae (to start with) :

Three male witches - not quite wizards - employees of an IT company.
Macbeth - successful member of the same IT company.
Lady Macbeth - Macbeth's wife.
Banquo - Macbeth's colleague and friend.
Ross - Macbeth's immediate boss.
Mona - hot female member of the same IT company.
Several leaders - senior members of the same IT company.
Duncan - the big boss, the manager of Macbeth's group.

Act I Scene I

Scene I : A break area in the IT company, well past mandatory working hours.

Enter three witches. First witch has a coffee cup in his hand, the second witch has a can of Diet Coke, third witch has an empty water bottle and a bag of potato chips. The witches have a general negative air about them - mostly malice, some envy, some resentment - even if they smile (pleasnatly or otherwise) and crack jokes ( good ones or otherwise). This negativity - as if, despite the ac, it is a humid summer inside their shirts - is to be indicated by body language, costume design and makeup. Some of it, ofcourse, comes out in the dialogue. The break area, quite a cheerful place in the mornings, is dull and dismal at this time of the night, perhaps because of wrong choice of wall colours or unduly bright lighting, and perhaps becuase of careless use by tens of employees during the day.

Third Witch :
Its quite late and the buses are gone,
One is left to the mercy of autos.
Unless of course, y'all like me,
Have well prepared and booked your cabs

First Witch and Second Witch :
Ofcourse we have
Ofcourse we have

Third Witch :

I could hve gone home an hour earlier,
But the prospect of bad food is so repelling,
If I have to eat it I will,
But 'tleast will avoid smelling it cooking,
And till that time will stuff myself,
With these potao chips

First Witch :

And me too, but then I think,
Let me have a few cups more of coffee,
Afore I call't a night,
For at home,
coffee does'nt come
out at the press of a simple button,
And may not be so strong as I like it.

Second Witch :

I like to stick out here and drink my beer,
Though, ofcourse, there's beer at home too,
But beer is more fun in a coke can,
Amidst pleasant company
(the last line said with semi-cordial contempt)
Hey! I mean you!


(pause)

Third Witch : Life's good eh guys?

First Witch : Ofcourse, free coffee.

Second Witch : Okay types money for ill-done work.

Third Witch : Fast internet, though the better ones be blocked.

First Witch : Good toilets kept clean...

Second Witch :...by underpaid blokes who don't know better.

Third Witch : the firing sword hangs on a slim thread though...

(dismal pause)

First Witch :

So what of it?
There's free coffee
In other companies too.

Second Witch (without feeling): I'll miss drinking coke with you guys.

(pause)

Third Witch : Hey! Life's good guys?

First Witch : Ofcourse, free coffee.

Second Witch (sighing with real sadness): But some people have free coffee and more.

Third Witch and First Witch (with gossipy eagerness): Who do you mean? Who do you mean?

Seond Witch: You know!

Third Witch and First Witch (with gossipy eagerness): But still do tell!

Second Witch : Macbeth.

First Witch : Ya, lucky dog.

Third Witch : Stinking rich, lucky dog.

Second Witch :

Just married to a virgin bombshell,
And her father owns half of Bangalore,
Maybe not half, but at-least one percent,
All that money is his,
If only he'd ask.

First Witch :

But apparently he does'nt want any,
He wants only his own money,
Which ofcourse he's making pots of,
In a couple of years they'll make him VP.

Third Witch :

Ha. VP. That's a good one.
Bugger knows his job though.

Second Witch :

And his boss's and maybe his boss's boss's
Not to speak of mine and yours'

Third Witch :
Not to speak of mine and yours'?
Ha. I am sure he takes pains to point that out,
Subtully, as they say it,
To people that matters.

First Witch :

To people that matters.
Ha. To think he joined with us!

Second Witch :

To think he joined with us!
Ha. I am sure he's laughing in his head,
the once-a-while we sit at lunch
together.

(pause)

(pause pause)

Second Witch :

We'll fix the bugger for laughing at us.

Third Witch :

Nah. He's too big now.
What's your plan?

First Witch :

N'thing risky I hope.

Second Witch :

N'thing risky I hope
(Mimicking with contempt)
Na not risky.
But we have'nt much to lose,
Which of us will make it through
Next to next month's performance r'view
Is anybody's guess, anyway.

Third Witch :

So tell it.

Second Witch :

No not tonite.
It's but an idea now.
Let me think it over a couple of beers,
Sitting in the comfort of my sweet-smelling room,
(sweet-smelling said too sweetly - sarcastically)
And it'll be a plan tomorrow.
Have your wits abt you,
And we'll speak of this anon.

(Gets up, stretches. The other follow suit. Exeunt.)