Act 1 concluded with Lady Macbeth hatching a plan for Macbeth to kill Duncan in his bed and pin the murder on his two servants. Act 2 is short and simple - but important - and marks the unofficial halfway point of the play. There are essentially two things you need to take out of Act 2:
Killing of King Duncan
I chose this version because it is probably the most violent and the violence is important in this case. Act 2, Scene 1 Text
Macbeth kills the king (Scene 1) in an extremely violent and cowardly way and plants the evidence on his guards. The murder scene could be disturbing to some viewers or at least a heavy watch which brings us to...
Comic Relief
Comic relief is a scene or section of a play designed to lighten the mood or make the audience laugh.
The next morning when the quiet is broken by a drunken porter banging at the door. This is played for laughs as a way to relieve the tension and lighten the mood. I chose a live performance of Scene 2 so you could see how ridiculous it is.
The porter is drunk, inappropriate and otherwise unimportant to the actual plot and storyline of the play. The audience can laugh a little and then he's quickly ushered away. Act 2, Scene 3 Text
Watching an "intense" murder scene followed by a "comical" porter scene (see also: My Macbeth Porter Performance One and Two) gives the audience/reader a chance to reset.
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