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The Donmar Warehouse’s Christmas revival of Shakespeare’s ’Macbeth’ sold out months in advance on the name of its star alone: one David Tennant, whose substantial fanbase rapidly sold out the bijou 250-seat theatre.
Everything else could have just been icing on the cake. There was the fact Tennant’s co-star was another big name, the superb Cush Jumbo. And there was the incredibly high concept sound design, wherein audience members donned headphones to hear the mic’d up actors, who were therefore able to speak in very low registers (even whispers).
As it turns out, Max Webster’s production was great. The innovative sound work paid off in spades, but it was also a tremendous performance from Tennant as an unusually malevolent Macbeth, with Jumbo’s Lady M rather brilliantly fulfilling the role of his corroding soul, growing weaker and more virtuous as he grew stronger and madder.
In other words, it was too good a production to limit to a small audience of theatre hipsters and Tennant obsessives and long story short it’s been announced today, April 23 – aka Shakespeare’s birthday – that a West End transfer is happening.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Thursday April 25 for its two-and-a-half-month run at the Harold Pinter Theatre, which will see Tennant and Jumbo reprise their lead roles, with the rest of the cast TBC. The binaural sound will also be present and correct, and while the Pinter is three times bigger than the Donmar, it’s one of the West End’s more intimate theatres and should foster a similar sense of closeness to the cast.
We’re promised that one third of all tickets will be priced at £35 or less, with £25 front row tickets available for purchase on the day of each performance.
If you’re really thirsting to get tickets, they’re on sale now to Donmar members, although you should be fine booking on Thursday so long as you don’t dither – the cheaper tickets will almost certainly be the first to go.
‘Macbeth’ is at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Oct 1-Dec 14. Buy tickets here.