MACBETH by William Shakespeare, RST, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

IAN CHARLESON AWARD - Anna Russell-Martin, Banquo

IAN CHARLESON AWARD - Shyvonne Ahmmed - Malcolm

‘Set in a post-apocalyptic Scotland in the near future, Wils Wilson’s production suggests a country ravaged by war, where damage and uncertainty stalk the land. Both Wilson and her designer Georgia McGuinness use the scope of the RSC stage well. Huge boulders dot the space, dead birds fall unnervingly from the heights, “fog and filthy air” hang over the space — hell is murky indeed. The costumes mix styles to look both contemporary and medieval. In one chilling moment, the witches — feral creatures clad in hair garments — arrive by pushing up through some ghastly membrane, as if being birthed by an earth that has awaited this chance to release them again. Another inspired decision is to have Macbeth’s celebratory banquet illuminated via an emergency generator which suddenly packs up, adding to the nervous tension. Lurking behind a shredded black curtain, the musicians provide Alasdair Macrae’s mournful brass-and-bagpipes-inflected score.’ The Financial Times

‘The overall cumulative effect is constantly intriguing and imaginative, with Kai Fischer’s atmospheric lighting and Claire Windsor’s extraordinary sound design – fronted by Macrae’s bizarre, discordant tones of tuba, bass trombone and sousaphone – doing much to create an other-worldly landscape against which the bloody action plays out. ‘WhatsOnStage ****

‘Right from its tense opening on the misty barren Scottish landscape with horns and bagpipes sounding, Wils Wilson's gripping new production of Macbeth has you on the edge of your seat as it unfolds a more psychological study into the titular character.’ Beyond the Curtain****

Creative Team

Director - Wils Wilson

Designer - Georgia MacGuinness

Composer - Alasdair Macrae

Choreographer - Julia Cheng

Lighting Design - Kai Fischer

Sound Design - Claire Windsor

Fight Director - Kaitlin Howard

Porter Scene rewritten by Stewart Lee

Cast (in order of appearance)

Witches - Eilidh Loan, Dylan Read, Amber Sylvia Edwards

Piper / Gentlewoman - Annie Grace