Macbeth is a stage production.
Macbeth ( [ məkˈbɛθ ] full title The Tragedy of Macbeth ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare ; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606 . It was first published in the Folio of 1623 , possibly from a prompt book , and is Shakespeare 's shortest tragedy . The prompt book , also called transcript , the bible or sometimes simply `` the book , '' is the copy of a production script that contains the information necessary to create a theatrical production from the ground up . In modern theatrical productions , the prompt book is generally maintained and kept by the stage manager , with differences in the specific construction and organization to suit the style of the stage manager keeping the book , and the type of production ( legitimate theatre , musical theatre , dance , opera , etc. ) . The Scottish Play . A variation of the superstition also forbids quoting it within a theatre except as part of an actual rehearsal or performance of the play .