In this piece, early modernist historian David Dean writes about his experience working with the National Art Centre’s English Theatre Company on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. He describes his initial excitement working on the piece and his subsequent discovery of the complexities of working on an historical play with modern actors for a modern audience. Midway into the project Dean found himself questioning the value of using a period production to communicate contemporary meaning to a modern audience, and he moved from enthusiastic to uncertain. As rehearsals progressed, however, Dean came to distinguish between accuracy and authenticity – being exact and correct, and being authoritative – and in the end was delighted to discover that the company was able to say new things about the play and do so in an authoritative way. Had they been determinedly accurate with their period production this may not have been possible.