TWO acclaimed North West actors will take centre stage in a bold new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth coming to Oldham this autumn.
Andrew Sheridan, known for roles in Control, Peaky Blinders and HBO’s Chernobyl, will play Macbeth, while The Bay star Erin Shanagher takes on the role of Lady Macbeth.
The production – directed by Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s new Creative Director, Nick Bagnall – will run for 19 performances at Liquid & Envy in central Oldham from Friday, October 23 to Saturday, November 7.
It marks the Coliseum’s most ambitious production since it began presenting work in temporary and site-specific venues while restoration work continues on its historic Fairbottom Street home.
Bagnall is taking Shakespeare’s tragedy into a reimagined nightclub and relocating the action to a gritty late-1970s world of gangsters, casinos and changing social codes. The production will explore ambition, masculinity, power and identity through an Oldham lens, with Shakespeare’s original language retained.
Sheridan is an award-winning actor and writer, whose theatre credits include A Taste of Honey at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, Let the Right One In and People, Places and Things. His debut play, Winterlong, won the Bruntwood Prize.
Shanagher is best known to television audiences as DS Karen Hobson in ITV’s The Bay. Her other credits include Peaky Blinders, The A Word, Viewpoint and the film Censor. She has also performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Beginning.
‘Feels like a dream come true’
Both actors have strong links to the North West, something Bagnall says makes their casting particularly special.
“It is with great pride, joy and excitement that I welcome Andy and Erin, our Macbeths, to my first Oldham Coliseum Theatre show,” he said.
“After working with Andy in the Henry VI trilogy at Shakespeare’s Globe, I cannot wait for our audiences to be dazzled by this extraordinary actor’s ability to terrify and charm in equal measure. Andy is one of the most respected actors around, and I have been dying to work with him again.
“I have watched Erin from afar and vowed to get in a room with her to make work. I cannot think of a more perfect project for her. She will be quite an astonishing Lady Macbeth. Erin and Andy are two of the most agile, skilful and soulful actors I have seen, and to have them excavate the world of this play with me in Oldham feels like a dream come true.”
The unusual setting is intended to make the production feel as much like a night out as a traditional theatre experience, drawing on Oldham’s clubs, mills and streets during a period of significant social change.
Access is also being incorporated throughout the run, with a relaxed performance, an audio-described performance, a captioned performance and two British Sign Language-interpreted performances.
The production runs at Liquid & Envy, on Retiro Street in Oldham, from October 23 to November 7.
Tickets range from £15 for concessions to £28 standard, with Oldham/local tickets priced at £25. They are available online now at https://coliseum.org.uk/whats-on/macbeth/#bookNow
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