The Tragedy of Macbeth

Wednesday April 26, 8:00 pm

York St John University Creative Arts Centre

Flabbergast Theatre

In this classic tale of greed and guilt, Flabbergast’s Macbeth fuses a rigorous and respectful
approach to text and storytelling to bring a magical, lucid interpretation of Shakespeare’s blood-soaked tragedy to life.

Playing to their strengths and background in puppetry, clown, mask, ensemble and physical
theatre, Flabbergast have developed their first text-based production (with extensive R&D
with Wilton’s Musical Hall London and Grotowski Institute Poland) to foster the bard’s
original text accompanied by and supported with exhilarating live music to produce a
provocative and enjoyably accessible show.

Beautifully performed music and vocal work combine into a powerful live soundscape
creating an atmosphere that both compliments and juxtaposes the action. With a stripped
back set, and an aesthetically arresting design, the tightknit ensemble of actors performs a
dark and visceral manifestation of the work’s essence and underlaying themes.

Flabbergast presents an instinctive interpretation of Shakespeare’s most wretched tragedy,
working to draw out the parallels with modern society. At its heart, the dominant recurring
theme and fundamental narrative that powers The Tragedy of Macbeth is the masculine fear
of feminine power; and in this sense, the play is as pertinent today as it has ever been.
This timeless work examines what it meant to be a man, and what it meant to be a woman
and underscores the social contracts between the two that dictate the actions of the
protagonists. The notion that gender is a social construct, is never more clear than during
Lady Macbeth’s “unsex me here” soliloquy, as she fights to set aside her feminine role, lest it
hinder her dark ambitions. And the witches – who can appear as crones or maids – embody
the power which threatened the patriarchal establishment;

Bringing a performance for both new and established theatregoers to fully appreciate,
Flabbergast’s Shakespeare is for everyone, in this visceral and eloquent retelling of
Shakespeare’s imbrued tale of vicissitude.

Chosen for the European Shakespeare Festivals Network Shakesphere project, 2023, and also being presented at our partner festivals in Neuss (Germany) Craiova (Romania) and Gdansk (Poland).

Tickets £10 full price £5 concessions – bookings through the link below

We want to make it possible for as many members of the Ukrainian community and other refugees and asylum seekers from across the world, in Yorkshire, to come and see Macbeth.

If you cannot travel to see the show, (or if you can), please consider buying a Pass it On Ticket which we can offer to community members. You can buy these through the booking link.

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