The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word MACBETH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
A
C
B
E
T
H
More clues leading to the result MACBETH
- US subject accepts award for play
- Be involved in cunning match play
- Play live match moved outside
- Bach met liberal King
- Stake stuck into companion by old woman in drama
- US subject accepts Queen’s Award for Drama
- Old woman clubs Hebrew character in bloody drama
- Scotsman takes girl to see play
- Tyrannical leader usurps king in horrific chamber piece
- Play gong in American study
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "play" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case play = macbeth.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.