Set in London during the stock market crash of 1987, this new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by award-winning theatre company Proteus takes the macabre tale to the trading room floor. The entirely ethnically diverse cast have worked closely with Theatre Ad Infinitum’s George Mann to create a highly physical, major new interpretation of a classic. Directed by Mary Swan, the artistic director of Proteus, this Macbeth is a gripping corporate thriller.
A Great Storm, a Black Monday, a market crash that reverberates across the world – Proteus’ Macbeth is suffused with decadence and aggression as a tormented soul finds the noose of bravado begin to tighten. Exploring the pressures of race, class and identity, sudden betrayal and even more sudden violence shake a society to its core.
Set to an electrifying soundtrack of eighties classics, Macbeth interrogates how Thatcher’s government legitimised behemoth corporations to act above the law – like the feuding Thanes of Scotland. The production joins the ‘greed is good’ corporate landscape where, in the City, success is all and ruthless ambition is rewarded. The only problem is, how do you control it before it consumes you and your family?
Leading the production, Riz Meedin (Reclaimed, UK tour; Intimacy, UK tour; The Bill, ITV) will appear as Macbeth joined by Alexandra Afryea (Care, BBC; Silent Witness, BBC; Macbeth, Rose Theatre) as Lady Macbeth. Also joining the cast are Danny Charles (A Christmas Carol, UK tour; Stripy Tales, Octagon; His Lordships Fancy, Gate Theatre), Jessica Andrade (Around the World in Eighty Days, UK tour; Romeo and Juliet, Secret Theatre; Funk Da Cirque, international tour) and Umar Butt (Alex & Eliza, ARC Stockton; Pinocchio, The Albany; My Name is, Scottish tour).
Director Mary Swan comments, “A story of power and corruption within a country divided against itself, Macbeth follows the final death throes of an old political order. To create an exciting and contemporary physical production that speaks to audiences today, we have set the play in 1987 to discuss, through the prism of history, how Thatcher’s Britain and Reaganomics created our modern political and economic landscape. With a cast that is seldom seen in major Shakespearean roles, we seek to highlight the lack of diversity in classical theatre and create theatre accessible to young people.”
Macbeth is at The Haymarket, Basingstoke 14th – 15th March 2019, and Jackson’s Lane, London 21st – 22nd March 2019.
