October’s offering at Readers Theatre Repertory features Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, in an evening themed “Macabre Macbeth.”

And the curtain rises on the ideal dark and stormy night.

Director David Berkson, a Shakespeare scholar who also adapted the story specifically for RTR, says “Given all the superstition surrounding ‘Macbeth,’ we couldn’t resist opening the show on Friday 13th.”

Berkson’s adaptation focuses on the heart of the story, with an emphasis on the grim wickedness within and around the characters. “Well, it’s a perfect Halloween play. ‘Macbeth’ is a terrifying story,” he says, “partly due to the ghost and witches, but the real horror comes from the daggers of the minds of the characters.”

For those who appreciate the Bard’s tales but recoil from their epic nature, this bite-sized bit of bloody good theatre may be just the thing: as with all RTR evenings, the show will run about an hour.

The cast features Shannon Day, Nick DenHartigh, Jordynn Didlick, Kevin Kelleher, Randy Patterson, Janet Penner, Chris Porter, and Jennette Zarko, among others.