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Saturday 9th November 2019 Venue: Connaught Theatre, Union Place, Worthing.
Price: Tickets from £16.50
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Award-winning theatre company Proteus presents a highly physical re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a corporate thriller set against the backdrop of the ‘greed is good’ culture of 1980s Britain.
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 has worked closely with Theatre Ad Infinitum’s George Mann to create a highly physical, major new interpretation of a classic.
Some may be expecting the storyline of Macbeth in 1980s style and speak, but make no mistake, this is a Shakespearian play and the dialogue is in the true keeping of this magnificent writer.
Your attention is grabbed immediately with the actors all on stage as they re-enact the stock exchange environment to New Order's How Does It Feel. You are then treated to the dialogue, which is in keeping with Macbeth.
The first night's performance at Worthing Theatre was full of the younger generation. A lot of students and couples in their early twenties coming to enjoy an era that they would have only heard and read about!
Along with young couples, it was also noticeable that there were families in the theatre too, younger children of 12+ experiencing how our material world of the 80s would have been viewed in the eyes of Shakespear.
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.”
Proteus Theatre Company Cast
Leading the production, Hassan Maarfi (The Left Behind, BBC; Playing with Shakespeare, Theatre Royal Shakespeare) will appear as Macbeth joined by Kudzanayi Chiwawa (The Importance of Being Earnest, Tara Theatre; One Hundred Trillion, Southwark Playhouse) as Lady Macbeth. Also joining the cast are Adrian Decosta (Nation, National Theatre; The Taming of the Shrew, RSC), Jessica Andrade (Around the World in 80 Days, UK tour) and Adam Buksh (Scot Squad, BBC).Listing Information for Macbeth at Worthing Theatres
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Date & Time: Friday 8th November 2019 – Saturday 9th November 2019
Venue: Connaught Theatre, Union Place, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1LG
Price: Tickets from £16.50
Box office: 01903 206 206 or online at www.worthingtheatres.co.uk
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Sounds an interesting take on Macbeth. It is many years since I saw the "traditional" Macbeth and I now don't really remember the plot
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