The Tragedy of Macbeth · 39 speeches across 7 scenes
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A Scottish thane, loyal messenger and witness to key events.
Who they are
Ross serves as a functional chorus, delivering news and commentary throughout the play. He shifts from loyalist to informant, bringing Macbeth’s title, reporting Duncan’s murder, and ultimately revealing Macduff’s family’s slaughter. His arc mirrors Scotland’s unraveling, ending in service to Malcolm’s cause.
Playing them
Play Ross as a steady, observant presence—his energy is neutral but weighted. Vary vocal tone from formal reportage (Act 1) to grim weariness (Act 4). Use pauses for ominous news; avoid melodrama. In the old man scene, match his fractured meter to the disordered world.
Appearance
Typically costumed as a thane in dark, practical garb—no royalty, no flash. Can be staged with a traveling cloak or dusty boots to emphasize his role as a messenger.
Shakespeare the way it was meant to be had — out loud
These plays were written to be performed, not silently read. Yorick is a
rehearsal app that lets you perform them: you take a part in any of Shakespeare’s
38 plays, and Yorick reads every other role aloud, listens while you speak your
lines, keeps your place, and prompts you the moment you dry.
It is built for the person who has to be off book by tech week — school and
college productions, community theatre, festivals, drama students and classical
auditions — and for anyone who wants to hear a scene rather than skim it.
Alongside the performance you get a plain-English translation of every speech,
scene context, performance notes, and the ability to ask about any line and get
an answer that already knows the play, the scene and who is speaking.
The text is the public-domain Cambridge/Globe edition. Translations and notes
are AI-generated rehearsal aids for actors and students, not a scholarly
apparatus. Yorick runs in a browser with nothing to install, and on iPhone and
Android.