Dark Times

Acclaimed director Rufus Norris talks to Nancy Connolly about his new version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Acclaimed director and playwright Rufus Norris talks to Bath W about his brave new version of Macbeth

THE artistic director of the National Theatre in London and acclaimed director Rufus Norris was in Bath to talk about his controversial new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, touring to Bath in the autumn, following a sell-out London premiere. It is a brave and dark production of the Scottish play, set in modern times in a post-war, futuristic and apocalyptic setting which has been greeted with mixed reviews, but packed audiences at the Olivier at the National.

Rufus made a fleeting visit to Bath to talk about the production coming to the stage of the Theatre Royal as part of a national tour.

Speaking at a press conference at the Theatre Royal, he said:

“It is obviously disappointing and frustrating if critics do not like your work but audiences have loved it, we have had some amazing feedback and I hope people including young people and school children will love it in Bath. It will look very different here.

“It was sold out [in London] and I got a huge amount of letters from audience members who loved it, it’s frustrating but I stand by all my decisions.

“I can’t wait to bring Macbeth to Bath, I absolutely love the Theatre Royal, it is a wonderful, unique theatre and it will bring out the intimacy between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the other main characters beautifully, audiences will be able to get really up close to the characters in this amazing story.

“I have always wanted to direct Macbeth, it was my favourite play at school and it is such an extraordinary story. “It has never been more relevant. “It is post civil war, there is chaos, there is no order, that is not that hard to imagine in an age such as ours.

“Post Trump and Brexit, war, refugees, it is not hard to imagine a system which has broken down completely, it is all around us in different parts of the world.

“This is the setting we chose for Macbeth because people of all ages can relate to it, it is dark and grim, this is the reality.

“I wanted to really hone in on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, it is a fascinating study and I think schoolchildren in Bath will really enjoy this aspect of the play.

“It is a very close marriage, that is the thing about Macbeth and it is only when it starts to fall apart that characters descend into chaos.

“The Theatre Royal is a very special place, I have lots of experience of it professionally but I spent a lot of time in Bath when my wife played in The Duchess of Malfi at the Ustinov.”

“Our first son was only two at the time and I had a lot of time on my hands to wander around and get to know the city, I really loved it then and I really love it now, it’s a gorgeous place.

“The Theatre Royal is really special,” he told journalists.

“It is difficult to describe but it really is the most intimate of theatres.

“We have a saying in acting circles in some theatres there is a relationship between the whites of the eye of the actor and the audience, and this very much happens at the Theatre Royal.

“It just feels all around you, the intimacy, the closeness, it will be ideal for this Macbeth, so different from the Olivier, it will be like a different play, audiences will be able to examine the workings of Macbeth really up close,” he said.