Schools test 'interactive graphic novel' version of Macbeth

Classical Comics is set to launch a multimedia version of the play for children and teenagers, featuring the voices of Juliet Stevenson and Derek Jacobi
By: Alison Flood

The latest attempt to get an audience of multimedia-savvy schoolchildren and teens engaged with Shakespeare is an interactive graphic novel version of the play, complete with voiceovers by Derek Jacobi and Juliet Stevenson.

Classical Comics has done well with a series of graphic novels of famous titles (including Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol and Frankenstein) which it launched two years ago, but the publisher decided that the next step in its quest to make classic stories accessible would be to bring the text alive. Its new version of Macbeth, which it will preview to schools this week before launching in June, takes the artwork of comicbook artist Jon Haward from its original graphic novel and animates it, adding audio from Jacobi and Stevenson.

"That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold: what hath quenched them hath given me fire," proclaims Stevenson as Lady Macbeth, descending a stone staircase framed by gargoyles as two dogs growl over a piece of meat. And later, "I have done the deed," gasps Jacobi as the Thane of Cawdor, gripping two bloody daggers. "Didst thou not hear a noise?"

"It's been in the planning for a while," said Classical Comics managing director Clive Bryant of the Macbeth project. "We thought of it at the beginning of last year and it's taken this long to get it together. Having Derek Jacobi and Juliet Stevenson involved was incredible – we were recording it in a small studio in north London, which had a large contact list, which was how we managed to secure them. It just adds that extra dimension to it: hearing Macbeth with Derek Jacobi in the classroom – you can't get much better than that."

He visualises teachers using the interactive graphic novel (which comes in three versions: the original Shakespearean text, a contemporary rendering, and a quick, reduced version for younger viewers) on the whiteboard for a whole class. Alternatively groups of students might discuss the novel around a computer. Readers can choose to view one panel at a time or sit back and watch in "movie mode", with context notes provided explaining the Shakespearean language.

Jacobi called the concept "truly inspirational, creating, as it does so magnificently, an accessible and fascinating mix of visual and audible drama ... The stage and the page brought vividly to life". "The artwork of Jon Haward is both dramatically compelling and beautifully illustrative," he added. "His pictures illuminate the words to perfection and bring these great works leaping to mind and eye. This format is immediate, vital, energetic and engaging."

If the venture proves popular with schools, Classical Comics is planning a whole range of other interactive graphic novels, including Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bryant said.