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[title]Get ready for some toil and trouble, because something wicked this way comes. Shakespeare’s shortest, bloodiest, most quotable thriller, Macbeth, is getting a fresh go-around by Australia’s experts in the field, Bell Shakespeare, at the Arts Centre Melbourne from Thursday April 27.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the event that ensured these incredible plays would be preserved for all time, and for the occasion Bell Shakespeare are pulling out the big guns (Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night are also part of their 2023 season). And it’s hard to go past Macbeth when it comes to the sheer impact of the dreadful tale it tells.
For noobs, it’s the story of a medieval Scottish general who encounters three witches who prophesy that he’ll be king. Unable to shake the notion, he and his wife plot the murder of the existing king, which sets into motion a bloodbath and their ultimate downfall.
In this production, directed by Bell Shakespeare artistic director Peter Evans, the action is relocated to the post-World War One era, and the title role is played by Logie award winner Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour). The powerhouse part of Lady Macbeth is taken by Jessica Tovey (Home and Away, Paper Giants).
"Bell Shakespeare brings us a minimalist, sly, and refreshingly funny take on the Scottish play," said Time Out Sydney's reviewer on the production's premiere at the Sydney Opera House in February.
"[Shammas] comes alive as a capering loon, a man driven to insanity by the recognition that the inevitable doom that awaits him is one of his own making... Meanwhile, Jessica Tovey gives us a markedly sensual Lady Macbeth, and the chemistry that binds the ambitious power couple together is palpable."
Tickets are from $45 and on sale now and the season concludes on May 14.