ETT (English Touring Theatre) announces full casting for their new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a co-production with Northern Stage, Shakespeare North Playhouse and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.
In ETT’s first international tour since the pandemic, Macbeth will open at Shakespeare North Playhouse on 6 September 2023, with previews from 1 September, running until 23 September, in a design unique to the Playhouse’s space. The production will then be remounted, opening at Northern Stage to mark the start of the tour, and then travels to New Wolsey Ipswich, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Dubai Opera House, Cambridge Arts Theatre, The Landmark Theatre Ilfracombe, and in early 2024, to Bristol Old Vic and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, with further tour dates to be announced. Alongside Macbeth in the autumn, ETT’s critically acclaimed production of I, Daniel Blake will resume its UK tour in September, playing at Stratford East and Edinburgh with further dates to be announced.
With Mike Noble in the title role and Laura Elsworthy as Lady Macbeth, the cast includes Lola Aluko (Lennox), Jasmine Elcock (Malcolm), Brian Lonsdale (Banquo), Guy Rhys (Macduff), Coral Sinclair (Lady Macduff), Ross Waiton (Duncan) and Leo Wan (Ross).
Richard Twyman, Artistic Director and CEO, and Sophie Scull, Executive Producer of ETT said, “We are delighted to announce the cast for our upcoming production of Macbeth. They are an exceptional ensemble of actors, and we are so looking forward to the creative collaboration with them as we dig into the heart of this seminal play. Macbeth is a story that has seeped into our national consciousness – it’s clearly having a moment – and this production will tour extensively in the UK and internationally, so it felt vital to us that we built a cast and creative team that represented not only the hometowns of our co-producing partners Liverpool and Newcastle, but also the country more widely. We hope that audiences the length and breadth of the country will find something both familiar and provocative in the story and society that unfolds on stage. We can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room with this brilliant company and share what we create together with audiences across the country and the globe.”
Laura Collier, Creative Director of Shakespeare North Playhouse said, “It is such a joy to be co-producing Macbeth with our friends from English Touring Theatre, Northern Stage and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. ETT’s version of Macbeth is intense and intoxicating, and its complexity and nuance seeks to resonate deeply with modern audiences. We’re so excited to welcome audiences to see this production set against the incredible backdrop of our newly installed Frons Scenae.”
Natalie Ibu, Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive of Northern Stage added, “Our production of Macbeth will be touring extensively across the UK and internationally and I can’t wait to see this extraordinary, and almost entirely Northern and Scottish ensemble, breathe new life into Shakespeare’s timeless tale of obsession and corruption. We know that for many of our audiences this may be their first experience of a live Shakespeare performance and so I’m especially pleased that performers will reflect the diversity of our audiences here in Newcastle.”
2023 has been a busy and productive period for ETT, with a highly acclaimed, sell-out tour of I, Daniel Blake, and a new version of The Good Person of Szechwan, commissioned by ETT, in a co-production with Sheffield Crucible and the Lyric Hammersmith. Further programming for the year includes the second series of ETT’s new writing podcast F**ked Up Bedtime Stories (for Adults) with more details revealed for its second season. There will be seven new episodes from writers including Chris Bush, Ella Hickson and Simon Stephens, and performers on the podcast including Maxine Peake, Stephen Mangan and Tamara Lawrance. ETT’s monologue project interrogating the characterisation of mixed-race identity in contemporary Britain, Mixed, continues with writers including Javaad Alipoor and Sabrina Mahfouz. ETT continues the third year of its flagship playwriting programme, Nationwide Voices, in collaboration with three new partner companies: Birmingham Rep, Manchester Royal Exchange and tiata fahodzi.
An ETT, Northern Stage, Shakespeare North Playhouse and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg co-production
MACBETH
By William Shakespeare
Age guidance: suitable for mature 12-year-olds
Director: Richard Twyman; Designer: Basia Bińkowska; Lighting Designer: Azusa Ono; Sound Designer: Tingying Dong; Casting Director: Lotte Hines; Fight Director: Kevin McCurdy; Projection Designer: Will Duke; Music Consultant: David Colvin; Movement Director: Elinor Randle; Associate Director: Rachael Walsh; Academic and Text Consultant: Emma Whipday
Shakespeare North Playhouse 1 – 23 September 2023
Northern Stage 27 September – 7 October 2023
New Wolsey Ipswich 17 – 21 October 2023
Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg 25 – 28 October 2023
Dubai Opera House 3 – 5 November 2023
Cambridge Arts Theatre 8 – 11 November 2023
The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe 14 – 18 November 2023
Bristol Old Vic 25 January – 10 February 2024
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford 20 – 24 February 2024
A struggling and divided nation, tearing itself apart. So, when the Macbeths see their chance at the crown, why shouldn’t they take it?
But things don’t go according to plan. Dreams quickly turn to nightmares, humanity erodes, nature stirs. As society strives to make sense of the darkness that sits inside it, how long will it take for people to fight back against the endless cycle of violence and corruption?
A visceral and contemporary new production that speaks to a world we find ourselves living in now, asking why has Macbeth haunted our fears and nightmares for centuries, and what lesson this cautionary tale is still urgently trying to communicate to us?
Mike Noble plays Macbeth. Theatre credits include Game (Almeida); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (National Theatre); Mudlarks (HighTide/Bush); and Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith/Royal Exchange, Manchester). Television work includes Home Fires, Mr Selfridge, Grantchester, and Prisoner’s Wives. Film credits include The Siege of Jadotville, Rules of the Game, Kill Command, Jack Ryan, Jadoo, Private Peaceful, World War Z, and Gambit.
Laura Elsworthy plays Lady Macbeth. Work on stage includes Corrina, Corrina (Headlong/Liverpool Everyman); Romeo & Juliet, Nativity, and Spacewang (Hull Truck Theatre); The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, Miss Littlewood, The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich (RSC); The Last Testament of Lilian Bilocca (Hull Truck Theatre and Hull 2017); The Hypocrite (Hull Truck / RSC); The Gap and The Skriker (Manchester International Festival); Our Town (Almeida Theatre); and The Accrington Pals (Manchester Royal Exchange). Television credits include The Beaker Girls, Vera, Lillian Bilocca, and Doctors. Films include Testament of Youth and Cinderella.
Lola Aluko plays Lennox. Lola recently graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this year. Theatre credits include Interiors (Vanishing Point), Opening Time (A Play, A Pie and A Pint), and Medea (National Theatre of Scotland). Television credits include The Demon Headmaster and The Wedding.
Jasmine Elcock plays Malcolm. A recent graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Jasmine came to international fame at the age of 14 when she auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent. This will be her professional acting debut.
Brian Lonsdale plays Banquo. Theatre work includes Noises Off (Northern Stage); War Horse (West End); Pitmen Painters (Live Theatre Newcastle/National Theatre/New York); Bedroom Farce (West Yorkshire Playhouse); My Romantic History (Live Theatre Newcastle); and Othello (ETT). Television and film credits include Hustle, Doctors, The Other Possibility, Valiant and Goal.
Guy Rhys plays Macduff. Theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing and Rock Paper Scissors (Sheffield Theatres); Not Now Bernard, Grimm’s Tales and Aesop’s Fables (Unicorn Theatre); Mother Courage and her Children (Headlong); and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Saint Joan (Donmar Warehouse). Television work includes The Witcher: Blood Origins, The Ipcress File, The Crimson Field, Doctors, The Bill, Sorted and Emmerdale Farm. Films include How To Build A Girl, Mary Queen of Scots and The Festival.
Coral Sinclair plays Lady Macduff. Theatre credits include Sleeping Beauty (Shared Experience) and The Secret Garden (York Theatre Royal / Theatre by the Lake).
Ross Waiton plays Duncan. Extensive stage credits include Hamlet (Almeida Theatre); Macbeth (National Theatre tour); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (National/West End); Twelfth Night (ETT/Sheffield Crucible); King Lear, Timon of Athens, The Revenger’s Tragedy, Saint Joan, Much Ado About Nothing and Antigone (National Theatre); The Tempest and As You Like It (Neal Street/BAM/Old Vic); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (ETT); The Duchess of Malfi, Antony and Cleopatra and Much Ado About Nothing (RSC). Film and television credits include Skyfall, The Devil’s Hour, Luther: The Fallen, Vera, Casualty, Maigret, Grantchester, Beowulf, Pride, EastEnders, and Holby City.
Leo Wan plays Ross. Theatre credits include The Good Person of Szechwan (Sheffield Theatre and Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), ROCK/PAPER/
Richard Twyman took up the role of Artistic Director of ETT in November 2016. He was previously Associate Director (International) at the Royal Court Theatre, where he worked with playwrights across the world to develop their plays. Prior to this, he spent five years at the RSC working on fourteen productions, including the hugely acclaimed Histories Cycle for which he directed Henry IV Pt II, which were honoured with three Olivier Awards, the Evening Standard Editor’s Choice Award and named by The Guardian’s Michael Billington as his production of the decade 2000-2010. Twyman has directed at the Royal Court Theatre, Bush Theatre, Old Vic Tunnels, Theatre Royal Bath and worked alongside Peter Hall on his 80th anniversary production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre. For the Royal Court Theatre, Twyman has directed You for Me for You by Mia Chung, Torn by Nat Martello-White, Harrogate by Al Smith and The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar. His other credits include Ditch by Beth Steel, which opened the Old Vic Tunnels; Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton at Theatre Cocoon, Tokyo/Osaka; Deliver Us by Anna Leader at Théâtres De La Ville Luxembourg; Give Me Your Hand (New York), nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience in 2012. For ETT, he has directed Martin Crimp’s Dealing with Clair at the Orange Tree Theatre and the critically acclaimed production of Othello, which toured the UK and internationally from 2017-2019.
ABOUT ETT (ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE)
ETT (English Touring Theatre) are a UK based international touring company. They stage both new and classic production of outstanding quality, imagination, and ambition; make innovative and pioneering immersive digital experiences; work which interrogates and celebrates contemporary England, reinventing the rules, reflecting the diversity of the nation. You can find their work in your local theatre, online, at festivals, in a field, internationally and in the West End. In the last five years ETT has produced over 50 live productions and pieces of digital work, enjoyed by audiences of over 340,000; and has won the UK Theatre Awards Best Touring Production in 2014, 2015, 2016; Best New Play Revival in 2019; Excellence in Inclusivity and Best Play in 2022.
Major productions include a major revival of Equus by Peter Shaffer in a co-production with Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by award winning director Ned Bennett, which transferred to Trafalgar Studios; Othello, which toured internationally to the Far and Middle East; Trailer Story (a travelling outdoor performance programme that celebrated local creativity); immersive virtual reality experience Adult Children and XR experience Museum of Austerity, directed by Sacha Wares in partnership with Donmar Warehouse, National Theatre Storytelling Studio, ScanLAB Projects and Trial and Error. More recently Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a co-production with Curve and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, directed by Anthony Almeida, the winner of the 2019 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award. A national tour of Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad & Me; A national tour of The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by 2021 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Denzel Westley-Sanderson; The Cherry Orchard reimagined by Vinay Patel; The Good Person of Szechwan reimagined by Nina Segal and directed by Anthony Lau; and a national tour of I, Daniel Blake, written for stage by Dave Johns.
ETT are a limited company and a registered charity, founded in 1993. We are based in London Waterloo; our premises comprise of offices, audition rooms and a large rehearsal studio.
Website ett.org.uk | Email [email protected]
Twitter @weareETT | Facebook/Instagram EnglishTouringTheatre | YouTube ETT
Shakespeare North Playhouse aims to bring people together to participate in a unique programme of performance, activities and conversations, inspired by Shakespeare and relevant to all of us.
At its heart is a traditional 470 seat timber framed Shakespearean theatre that will host a mix of vibrant new performances. Theatre, music, comedy, workshops, events and activities will spill out into the exhibition gallery, Studio and Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, creating an accessible space full of joy and creativity, where everyone is welcome.
Inspired by Prescot’s historic connections to William Shakespeare and a real love of storytelling, Shakespeare North Playhouse will play a key role in the ongoing regeneration of Knowsley; a place full of brilliant people with a story to tell.
Working together with audiences, artists and its local communities, the creative programme, learning opportunities and social spaces will help to open doors, invite debate and inspire a love of learning that will reach far beyond the walls of Shakespeare North Playhouse.
www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.
Northern Stage reaches beyond the ordinary. The largest producing theatre in the North East of England, from our home in the heart of Newcastle. A part of a diverse creative community stretching from Tweed to Tyne and Tees. Our work is informed and transformed by the region so that we an essential part of everyone’s lives, making vital pieces of culture for the North East of today and tomorrow.
We produce, co-produce and support the production of great theatre for regional, national and international audiences in live and digital forms. Touring regionally, nationally and internationally with work that is popular, accessible, politically relevant and culturally diverse. We promote creativity and creative practice and provide life-changing experiences for people who would not normally have access to such opportunities. Empowerment is at the heart of what we do, constantly evolving and collaborating with artists, practitioners and communities in the North East and beyond.
The Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg present, each season, an eclectic program composed mainly of co-productions and creations of works from the classical repertoire, contemporary writings and new forms. On the other hand, the house does not neglect its territorial roots in a multilingual country, and highlights a multiplicity of disciplines, aesthetics, voices, languagesand stories, combining established and emerging artists, often even within transnational artistic and technical teams.
