Macbeth — “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”
Under siege in his castle, his cause collapsing, Macbeth is told that his wife is dead. Beyond grief, hollowed out by everything he's done, he looks at time itself and finds it meaningless — life is a bad actor, a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing. He wants, and fails, to feel anything at all.
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
How to Play It
The hardest choice here is to resist grief. Macbeth is past feeling — the news of his wife's death barely registers, and that numbness is the point. Play a man staring into emptiness and trying to locate an emotion he can no longer reach, not a man weeping.
The trap is the opposite mistake: booming it as a 'great speech.' It's small, exhausted, and private. Let the images ('out, out, brief candle') be quiet discoveries, and the final 'Signifying nothing' cost nothing — because to him, nothing does.
It was written short and lands in well under a minute — a purpose-built piece, not a butchered long one. Well-known, so make the emptiness specific and it stays yours.
Strong for men in their 30s–40s who can sustain stillness and restraint. A rare short dramatic classical with a complete emotional shape.
Want Will to Coach You Through It?
A monologue is a two-person scene where the other person never speaks. Working it 1-on-1 with a working actor is the fastest way to make it land.