Source: Theatre
Now
October 25, 2002
Macbeth Gathers Momentum
25/10/2002
by Paul Webb
Macbeth arrives at the Albery on 7th November, opens on 14th November
and runs to 1st February 2003.
Sean Bean's return to the stage after a decade in films and television,
in a role ideally suited to his brooding sexuality, combined with
the good looks and icy sexual appeal of his co-star Samantha Bond,
have made Edward Hall's production of Macbeth a box office success
despite very little high-profile advertising in advance of the
opening.
Sean Bean and Samantha Bond, both well-known on television and
film (though Bond also had a major stage success in the late 1990s
with
David Hare's Amy's View, in which she co-starred with Dame Judi
Dench), seem to have attracted a great deal of public interest
simply by the fact of their casting.
Macbeth, as well as being traditionally
an 'unlucky' play, which is why actors tend to refer to it as
'The Scottish Play' (merely mentioning its name is though to court
disaster), is also a difficult one to make work on stage. Rufus
Sewell's Shaftesbury Avenue production, the most recent to be
seen in the West End, didn't quite work in the eyes of some drama
critics, despite his very powerful interpretation of the title
role.
It's never wise to tempt fate when it comes to Macbeth but the
advance signs for a great production of this popular, powerful,
but difficult play are already there, so get your tickets now
before it's too late.