Whether you’re an avid lover of the Bard of Avon or someone whose current association with Shakespeare is limited to high school English, the upcoming production of “Macbeth” at the Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria has all the makings to be a satisfying spectator experience.

Director Sam Dinkowitz has “trimmed the fat” from William Shakespeare’s famed horror tragedy — first published in the early 17th century — and turned it into a multimedia production set in a postmodern world, where characters wear suits and ties but also possess crowns, cloaks and swords. Also, it wouldn’t be the Scottish play it is without at least one kilt.

Audiences will have a chance to see Dinkowitz’s adaptation during performances that begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and continue on Sept. 21, Sept. 22 and Sept. 23. There is also a 3:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday.

The play tells the story of a Scottish general who is given a premonition by three witches that reveal he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murders the incumbent king, Duncan, and takes the throne. However, the struggle to retain it is marked by paranoia, further violence and eventual war, although cryptic prophecies are ultimately fulfilled.

A key element that drives the plot along (which audiences may or may not have learned during a high school or college course) is that, unlike in England, the succession of kings in Scotland wasn’t hereditary. Instead, the incumbent would nominate his successor based on merit, which often equivocated to success on the battlefield.

Preserving a time-honored story

While Shakespeare’s script is centuries old, the story itself is packed with themes and elements that allow it to resonate with a 21st-century audience, and Dinkowitz’s adaptation — with its run time of less than two hours, visually-gripping projections and stage combat — is designed to have even greater impact.

The original story “is totally intact,” Dinkowitz said, complete with its exploration of ambition, drive, and the timeless question: “What can you do to adjust your own destiny versus what is out of your control?”

It also feeds on society’s persistent enthrallment with power and influence, and the lengths people will go to achieve and sustain them. While in “Macbeth” those themes revolve around kings, it is easy enough for contemporary audiences in the United States to apply them to presidents.

“We’re still fascinated by the idea of what drives our rulers and how they’re flawed,” Dinkowitz said.

Additionally, the plot explores humanity’s innate inclination toward violence. The show itself includes multiple swordfights, choreographed by Dinkowitz, who is a stage-combat instructor. Even though the play is set in a relatively timeless, metaphorical realm, he chose to stick with swords rather than using a different, more modern weapon.

“The sword is such an iconic representation of violence and what it’s always been: Our desire to sharpen metal and stab it into someone in order to get what we want,” he said.

These dark themes created a welcome challenge for actor John Hoff, who plays the titular character. “I’ve always been fascinated with roles where I can be somebody that I’m completely not in real life,” said Hoff, who spent 11 years as a professional actor.

He portrayed a different character in a production of the show 23 years ago and remembers observing the actor who played Macbeth and the arc he had to achieve to capture the complete gamut of emotions experienced by the Scottish general-turned-king.

“I was enthralled, thinking, ‘Man, I want that challenge someday,’” Hoff said, adding he hoped to push himself into emotional and mental areas he hasn’t had the opportunity to explore in previous roles.

Introducing Shakespeare to a new generation

Hoff is joined onstage by Gigi Chadwick, who plays Lady Macbeth. She was recently involved in the Ten Fifteen Theater show “The Interview,” which earned regional applause at an Oregon theater festival.

The cast is rounded out by eight other actors who each play multiple roles. It includes Jolene Magee, Karen Bain, Jacob Merwin, Markus Brown, William Ham, Darren Delano, Liam McCaughey and Patrick Webb.

After weeks of rehearsal, Dinkowitz and Hoff look forward to having an audience witness the final product.

“I don’t think there’s been a show like this in this space, and I’m excited to see how the audience responds,” Dinkowitz said, adding his favorite kind of theater is when people are not entranced with single moments in the show “but the experience of the thing itself,” and that’s what he hopes to have accomplished with “Macbeth.”

“The show is such a spectacle-based experience, it’s going to be hard to pick the weird part that you liked most.”

As Dinkowitz’s adaptation is heavily edited to remove archaic references — slang in the 1600s but meaningless to a contemporary audience — Hoff believes it will be uniquely accessible to a range of viewers, and even help “introduce Shakespeare to a younger generation.”

“You may not understand every word, but you know what’s going on,” Hoff said.

“Macbeth”

Ten Fifteen Theater, 1015 Commercial St., Astoria

Tickets are $20, available at the door or online at www.thetenfifteentheater.com