The Doctor (The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

Banquo confronts the Doctor and Jamie. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

The Doctor was a character in an early draft of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

Appearing at several crucial moments throughout the narrative, he travelled with his companions Jamie and Zoe in the Tardis, a ship capable of traversing time, as well as locale beyond Earth. The Doctor was clearly based upon the Second Doctor while Jamie and Zoe were blatant versions of his companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot.

The additional subplot with the three extra characters was ultimately omitted from the finished play with The Shakespeare Notebooks speculating this was "likely" for reasons of "staging, dramatic unity, and plausibility". Before the discovery of the Shakespeare Notebooks, many critics had considered that, as the version of Macbeth printed in the First Folio was the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, it was actually a heavily edited version of what was originally a play of similar length to Othello and King Lear. In the finished version, the Doctor (sometimes along with his friends) was split into several different characters including the Weird Sisters, Banquo's murderers (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth) and Lady Macbeth's doctor. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass, Managra)

Character biography

Act I

The Doctor first appeared with Jamie and Zoe in Act I Scene III after "some small malfunction of Tardis circuits" had brought them to Scotland. Jamie described being in the control room "one minute" and "on some blasted heath" the next. Although it was rainy in the middle of the night, the Doctor advised against finding shelter as he predicted "the fault [would] mend itself" and at that point they would be swiftly returned to the Tardis.

Hearing Macbeth and Banquo approach, the trio attempted to hide in the mud but this was to no avail. Upon hearing Macbeth's name, Jamie recollected that he knew of him as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor with Zoe adding that he also became the King of Scotland. This greatly upset the Doctor who unsuccessfully begged for them to keep quiet. After listening, Macbeth explained he knew he was the Thane of Glamis but that the Thane of Cawdor lived. Just as Jamie was about to tell him how they could prophecise this, the Doctor clamped his hand over Jamie's mouth as all three started to vanish, returning to the Tardis. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

Act II

The trio next appeared in Act II Scene III, having "landed properly" outside Macbeth's castle. The Doctor took this opportunity to chastise Jamie for telling Macbeth his destiny because he would now want to slay the King and take the throne for himself. This was damage the Doctor was convinced they had to mend before it was too late. Zoe then brought up the Shakespeare play Macbeth, asking if the tale "must be true" and "come to pass" as he had written it. The Doctor countered Shakespeare had taken "poetic license with the truth" and that Macbeth did not neccesarily become king through murder.

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe were granted entry into the castle by a porter and then ducked out of sight when they heard Macbeth and Macduff coming, deep in conversation. At this point the Doctor realised that they had failed and Macbeth had already slain the King. Believing they might be blamed for the heinous act if caught, the trio slipped away in the ensuing chaos.

In Act II Scene V, the Doctor discussed with Jamie and Zoe that Banquo was now a threat to Macbeth as Jamie had told him he would "beget kings" and that he would have him killed unless they could prevent the misdeed. The Doctor shut down Jamie when he suggested they shouldn't interfere because they had "set this train upon its track" and it was therefore up to them to ensure no ill proceeds. At this point they were found by a servant who told them "King Macbeth" required their services. The Doctor and Jamie followed, leading into Act III Scene I, leaving Zoe in the safer environment until they returned.

Act III

With their faces concealed by hoods, the Doctor and Jamie attended to Macbeth who inquired as to whether they were "villains prepar'd to kill to please their king". The Doctor claimed they were and Macbeth asked them to kill Banquo that night. Reflecting that it was better Macbeth hired them instead of a pair of real murderers, the Doctor resolved to confront Banquo and let him go.

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe encountered Banquo and his son Fleance in Act III Scene III. The Doctor openly admitted he was sent to kill him but noted that he "wield[ed] no thought of harm" and had come to "deliver [him] from death's reach". Branding Macbeth a "regicidal maniac", the Doctor told Fleance to flee to Wales while Banquo stayed behind to help the Doctor provide proof of his untimely demise.

In Act III Scene IV, the Doctor attended a banquet with Macbeth and others during which he claimed to have killed both Banquo and Fleance. Soon afterwards, having given Banquo a perception filter, he signalled to him and Banquo appeared to only Macbeth with a "face white with chalk" in the guise of a ghost. This severely unsettled Macbeth who decided to visit the Weird Sisters after the feast which the Doctor suddenly realised was a reference to himself, Jamie and Zoe.

Act IV

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe disguised as the Weird Sisters. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

At the beginning of Act IV Scene I, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe stood around a bubbling cauldron in a cave on the heath. They all wore rags and applied mud to their faces to disguise themselves as witches. The Doctor brought a device to project images onto the wall and convince Macbeth of every word they spoke. As Zoe had memorised the entire play by heart, the Doctor told her to do the talking while he and Jamie occasionally joined in. After Zoe delivered her warnings to Macbeth, one of which was to beware of Macduff, they overheard him talking to Lenox about conspiring to kill Lady Macduff and her children resulting in the Doctor deciding to offer his and Jamie's services to the King once more, leading into the next scene.

In Act IV Scene II, similarly to with Banquo earlier in the play, the Doctor alerted Lady Macduff to the grave danger facing her by informing her that Macbeth had accused Macduff of high treason and sent him and Jamie to kill her. She left after heeding the Doctor's advice to flee with the Doctor sharing the belief she would be alright after laying low for a while.

Act V

During Act V Scene I, the Doctor and Jamie returned to Macbeth's castle where they met a gentlewoman asking if either of them had seen the doctor called to discover the cure to Lady Macbeth's newfound illness. Adopting an Edinburgh accent, the Doctor took to the role and the gentlewoman told him of her symptoms. He then witnessed as Lady Macbeth arrived in her poor state seemingly attempting to wash her hands leading to the Doctor diagnosing her with some form of obsessive compulsive sickness. She also alluded to her part in the killing of the King and, after the gentlewoman had left, the Doctor further diagnosed her with parasomnia or post-traumatic stress disorder though admitted he was unsure. Whatever the case, he was certain she was past curing now.

In Act V Scene III, the Doctor updated Macbeth on his wife's condition just before he left to confront the amassing English army. After his departure, the Doctor told Jamie he would "fight and lose" as he would not realise his men were massively outnumbered until it was too late. This was because the English forces were camouflagued with leaves and branches, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Great Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane Hill and heralding his defeat.

In Act V Scene VIII, having reunited with Zoe, the Doctor and Jamie approached "a blue dwelling" as the Doctor reflected on the end of Macbeth's story. Zoe asked him if Shakespeare had got it right after all to which he responded "not quite", asking her to imagine how many more foul murders there would have been if they hadn't intervened. At this, he pondered how he had to "make sure Shakespeare [wrote] it straight" upon their next meeting. All three then entered the dwelling and, with a "wheezing" and "groaning", it vanished, its occupants "bound for another adventure". (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)