Cain delightfully weaves what Shakespeare and his actors face off stage in the turbulent time with their work on stage, the excellent cast slipping in and out of roles, and the audience challenged to follow all of the permutations. Some of it is deadly serious, such the raising of the issue of being true to one’s conscience despite the perils involved, and also the pain in Shakespeare's life at losing a son and coming to terms with his daughter, Judith, here played warmly and sometimes whimsically by Charlotte Parry. There is also a sharp satirical thrust at the condoning of torture aimed at our contemporary parallel.

But there is also much hilarity thanks to the cleverness of the writing and the expertise of the cast in the broad sweep of this Manhattan Theatre Club Production, directed with lucidity by Garry Hynes. Shag gets word that the king wants witches in the production. Eventually they turn up, of course in Macbeth, a quick run through of which is uproariously staged by the company in a delightful spoof. There are witty references to the Bard’s work with specific passages included. Shakespeare’s writing itself is satirized, as when Judith’s tells the audience she hates soliloquies even while giving one. There is mirth in seeing Lady Macbeth played by a man and amusement is mined from infighting and actor egos.

All of this is heady, very intricate stuff, and toward the end of the second act the play sags somewhat under the weight of the author attempting to accomplish what is perhaps too much. But there also are moving moments involving an execution and the history of the period, and a discussion of religion and principle adds depth. The superior cast includes David Pittu, David Furr, Michael Countryman and Remy Auberjonois, all of whom colorfully take on multiple roles with varying degrees of complexity.