Perth Museum Macbeth exhibition puts Perthshire front and centre
Perthshire and its people take centre stage in the new Macbeth exhibition at Perth Museum.
Shakespeare's flawed hero might get star billing.
But much of the display space is given over to the real-life Macbeth, the Alba he reigned over, and the Scotland of Shakespeare's time.
Exhibits range from an 11th century sword to a Birnam Oak seedling, which might one day become part of a restored Birnam Wood.
And the reality behind Macbeth's famous witches is explored in chilling stories from the Perthshire witch trials.
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth to appeal to the nature of his monarch, King James VI of Scotland and I of England, who was obsessed with superstition and witchcraft.
And the treatment being meted out to innocent women and men accused of witchcraft at that time is as gory as anything in 'the Scottish play'.
The names of dozens of local victims are written on the walls around the exhibition.
Exhibitions officer David Freeburn says the story of Macbeth is rooted in this area, and the new home of the Stone of Destiny is the perfect place to tell it.
'We're really keen to tell stories that are worldwide and local,' he said.
'And there is so much about this one that really places it here.'
A map on one wall pinpoints local locations with links to Macbeth.
They include Dunkeld Cathedral – mentioned in the play as Duncan's seat of power.
The nearby Birnam Oak is thought to be the last survivor of the moving forest foretold by the Weird Sisters in Macbeth.
And Moot Hill at Scone was the place where kings were made since Pictish times.
Dunsinane Hill, Glamis Castle and Loch Leven Priory all share connections with Macbeth too.
Perth Museum curators hope visitors to the exhibition will be encouraged to go on and explore the wider area.
Other highlights of Macbeth: An Exhibition include tributes to famous Macbeths, such as Orson Welles and Sir Ian McKellen, and costumes from the 2015 Hollywood film starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
And among the rarest treasures is an original copy of William Shakespeare's First Folio on loan from the National Library of Scotland.
Macbeth: An Exhibition opens today, April 25, and runs to August 31.
Tickets can be bought at the museum or booked in advance through Perthshire Box Office.
The museum is open daily from 10am. Entry to the permanent galleries and the Stone of Destiny exhibit is free.
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