I played her like Nigella Lawson
Two actors who have taken on drama’s most ruthless couple say the continuing fascination with Macbeth is because the themes are as relevant now as they were when Shakespeare wrote the play.
Kate Fleetwood played Lady Macbeth with Sir Patrick Stewart as her on-stage husband in an acclaimed version which evoked the atmosphere of 1960s eastern Europe, playing on the ideal of Macbeth as a dictator.
“I played Lady Macbeth like Nigella Lawson,” the Harlots star said. “A big cake and a fridge, she’s cleaning with her pinny on, it just made sense.
“When the narcissism takes over, Macbeth becomes a dictator, and that all lends itself to the show of a banquet. She wonders who this monster she’s created is and how she can get out. The really enduring appeal of the play is that it’s about the corruption of the self.”
Mark Rowley believes his turn as Macbeth in Kit Monkman’s 2018 version at the age of 25 allowed him to reflect on his own life, morals, and choices.
Rowley believes characters like Macbeth exist in society today, and that fascinates.
“If you look at an iconic movie like Scarface, it’s the Macbeth story,” he said. “The rise and fall of someone from humble beginnings and making their way up the ladder to having it all and losing it.
“He does have a moral backbone and that’s what eats him alive. It’s only towards the end that he embraces the way he is. He’s tortured, feels like he’s drowning and that there’s nothing he can do. That’s a beautiful story.”
“At least Macbeth has some sense of morality when out there there are lots of people who don’t, so it’s always going to be a relevant story.”