Macbeth

This new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by award-winning theatre company Proteus takes the macabre tale to the trading room floor set against the background of the ‘greed is good’ corporate landscape of 1980s Britain.

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. Macbeth interrogates how Thatcher’s government legitimised behemoth corporations to act above the law – like the feuding Thanes of Scotland. 

Working closely with Theatre Ad Infinitum’s George Mann to create a highly physical, major new interpretation of a classic, this Macbeth is a gripping corporate thriller, set to an electrifying soundtrack of 80s electro hits and synth-inspired modern classics.

A note from Director Mary Swan “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.”