Shakespeare’s brutal tragedy of Macbeth is given new life in a haunting, break-neck speed new adaptation, retaining the intensity and intrigue of the original in 85 high-octane minutes but delivered by just two actors boldly bringing to life more than 20 roles.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers.
00:06 Lovely today to speak to Hannah Barry, who is doing something really rather remarkable with
00:10 Macbeth. Now this is a two-person Macbeth, all those roles divided, condensed between two people
00:17 on stage, coming to the New Theatre Royal Brighton on Tuesday, March 26th for two performances.
00:24 Tell me the thinking behind this, why condense? What's the virtue of presenting Macbeth in this
00:30 way? Well, one of the virtues is that you really zone in on the important stories,
00:40 the important partnerships, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Banquo Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth.
00:48 We strip away any extras, any unnecessary things. We want this story to be understood and to be
00:58 exciting. We really place a lot of importance on the verse and on using Shakespeare's structure to
01:05 enhance the story in our acting. And…
01:13 Sounds like there's a really close focus then on everything that actually really truly matters,
01:18 that some bits you can possibly lose from Macbeth, can't you?
01:22 Well, there is certainly some, yeah, there's some condensing that happens. We lose some minor roles.
01:30 We talk a lot about how to make this clear without totally butchering the text in any way.
01:39 We're very true to it, but we do cut things down so that the story is clear. And so this
01:46 fast-paced journey, this exciting story, you know, people can really, really invest in and come along
01:52 with us. And there's an incredibly laudable aim behind the whole thing, isn't it? It's about
01:56 making theatre accessible but affordable. Affordability being a huge part of accessibility,
02:02 isn't it? And explain how you're doing this production. I don't think you're doing it in
02:06 Brighton, but generally you're doing it underneath Pretty Woman. What does that mean?
02:10 Well, that means that we tour to the same theatres as Pretty Woman is, and in the afternoon slot that
02:21 is… that has been standing empty, we go and we go onto their stage and we use their lights and
02:27 we put on the show and we offer cheaper tickets to schools. And we are selling out these vast,
02:34 vast theatres and young people are perhaps getting their first experience of Shakespeare,
02:40 which is very, very exciting. And you were saying you've had audiences of 2,000 plus.
02:46 Is that oddly? Oh, yes. Is Brighton just the two of you or is that a sign of success?
02:51 Before the show went up, there was a little bit of terror, I'll admit. But as soon as we opened,
03:03 the audience were engaged on such a fantastic level. There's a lot of audience interaction
03:08 in the show, which they really got on board with. And you could hear a pin drop at times.
03:14 It felt very, very exciting and very lovely. It is absolutely cracking story, Beth, isn't it?
03:20 It's a brilliant story. Yes. It's so, it's so fast paced. It's so dangerous,
03:31 exciting, you know, and all those themes, you know, ambition and power, a country at war,
03:38 loss. It all speaks to us today.
03:41 And all conjured by just the two of you then in Brighton Theatre.
03:46 Brilliant. On Tuesday, March the 26th, with two performances. Hannah,
03:51 lovely to speak to you. Good luck with everything. Thank you.
03:54 Thank you.