‘CLAMOROUS HARBINGERS of blood and death’ are on the way to an Oldham nightclub – for a bold reimagining of a Shakespearean classic.
The Liquid & Envy nightclub will be taken over this October by a thrilling new staging of Macbeth, which will see all the action of the seventeenth century transported to a 1970s world of gangsters, casinos and grit.
During a time when Oldham was steeped in social and industrial change, the new ‘Macbeth’ “asks profound questions about power, identity, and what it means to be a man”, according to creator Nick Bagnall.
“Those questions feel urgent in a proud industrial town like Oldham that is navigating huge social and economic change.”
‘Macbeth’ is Bagnall’s first production on behalf of the Oldham Coliseum Theatre since he was appointed creative director in June.
It will join a host of other events across the Coliseum’s autumn and winter season, including ‘You’re My World’ by Oldham-born Mark Newsome, and performances from Testament, Stephen Bailey, Tez Ilyas, and others.
Bagnall hopes the show will send a clear signal of his ambition for the theatre going forward, particularly as the venue continues to undergo refurbishment.
“I want to blow the dust off Shakespeare,” he says. “This isn’t about putting the play on a pedestal, it’s about creating an experience that grabs people by the throat, whether they have seen Macbeth ten times or never encountered it before.
“We want people who have never set foot in a theatre to walk into Liquid & Envy and feel this story belongs to them. Staging ’Macbeth’ inside a working Oldham nightclub creates its own intrigue.”
According to Oldham Coliseum’s chief executive Martina Murphy, Bagnall’s ‘Macbeth’ is “exactly the kind of theatre” they intend to make.
“As we continue our journey back to Fairbottom Street, we are determined to keep creating ambitious work that surprises audiences and reaches people wherever they are. ’Macbeth’ demonstrates that the Coliseum isn’t waiting for its building to return before making theatre of national significance.”
‘Macbeth’ will run for 19 performances at the Liquid & Envy nightclub on Retiro Street, between October 23 and November 7.
The two-week season will also include a relaxed performance, an audio-described performance, a captioned performance, and two British Sign Language performances.
Tickets for ‘Macbeth’ are available on the Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s website.
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