Photos/Video: First Look At Shakespeare's MACBETH At Leeds Playhouse

See first look new production photos and the trailer for the new production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at Leeds Playhouse.

The wickedly good cast is led by Hamilton and Bridgerton star Ash Hunter, bringing a deep well of emotion and animalistic intent to the ruthlessly ambitious Macbeth. He played Alexander Hamilton in the hit West End musical in 2018/19 and starred as Heathcliff in Emma Rice’s acclaimed production of Wuthering Heights at the National Theatre.

Jessica Baglow stars alongside him as Lady Macbeth in Director Amy Leach and Set & Costume Designer Hayley Grindle’s thrilling take on Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy. She achieved widespread acclaim in the role when the production was first staged at the Playhouse in 2022, giving audiences a wonderfully complex would-be queen, mired in grief but with a steely inner core. Jessica has worked extensively in theatre, film and TV since childhood, appearing as a series regular in both ITV’s Where The Heart Is and the BBC’s Waterloo Road. Her extensive theatre credits include Pericles at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, for which she received an Ian Charleson Award Commendation.

Amy Leach, Deputy Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse and Director of Macbeth, said: “I think it is one of the greatest plays ever written. It’s thrillingly fast-paced with a cracking story and incredible language that explores the deepest, darkest parts of what it is to be human. It investigates the nature of belief, love, ambition and desire, asking us to root for two humans who drive each other to do utterly terrible things.   

“Our production is an exciting rollercoaster that brings Shakespeare’s words clearly to life, giving young people the chance to experience the play as it should be – as a living, breathing, electrifying experience.”

The adult cast includes: Adam Bassett as Macduff (A Christmas Carol, Hull Truck; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labours Lost, Deafinitely Theatre; Hullraisers, Channel 4); Charlotte Arrowsmith as Lady Macduff/Witch (Troilus and Cressida, As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company); Benjamin Cawley as Ross (Dr Who and Shetland, BBC One; Queen of Chapeltown, Leeds Playhouse; Dunsinane, Royal Shakespeare Company); Aosaf Afzal as Duncan/Doctor/Murderer (Mrs Sidhu Investigates, ITV; BAFTA Award-winning series How to be a Person, Channel 4/E4); Paul Brown as Lennox (Groan Ups, Vaudeville Theatre; Potted Potter, Ireland & US tour; EastEnders, BBC One); Karina Jones as Witch/Gentlewoman (Much Ado About Nothing, Sheffield Theatres/Ramps on the Moon; Measure for Measure and As You Like It, Royal Shakespeare Company); Shahbaaz Khan as Malcolm/Murderer (Road, Northern Stage; Doctors, BBC One); Daniel Poyser as Banquo (Nine Night and The Crucible, Leeds Playhouse; Much Ado About Nothing, National Theatre; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Royal Exchange); and Elkanah Wilder as Witch/Messenger (Galatea, Brighton Festival; Brassic, Sky Max; The Chatterleys, BBC R4).

Four Leeds school students have also been cast from the Playhouse’s Youth Theatre. Millie Soni, 12, a pupil at Allerton High School, and Kara Francis, 12, from Carr Manor Community School, have been cast as the child of Lord and Lady Macduff. Jayden Jhermaine Candala Seidi Dias, 13, from Cockburn School, and Josh Ndlovu, 14, from Trinity Academy, have been cast as Fleance, son of Banquo.    

The groundbreaking production is a feast for all the senses, created by an incredibly talented creative team that includes: Director Amy Leach (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Oliver Twist); Set & Costume Designer Hayley Grindle (Romeo and Juliet, National Theatre; Oliver Twist, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, Leeds Playhouse); Lighting Designer Chris Davey (Lord of the Flies, A Little Night Music and Maggie May, Leeds Playhouse; 42nd Street, Chatelet Theatre, Paris); Sound Designer & Composer Nicola T Chang (My Neighbour Totoro, Royal Shakespeare Company; Kerry Jackson, National Theatre; The Death of Ophelia, Shakespeare’s Globe); AD Consultant Benjamin Wilson (Much Ado About Nothing and Guys & Dolls, Sheffield Theatres; Lord of the Flies, Oliver Twist and Road, Leeds Playhouse); BSL Consultant Adam Bassett (as above); BSL Consultant Charlotte Arrowsmith (as above); Movement Director Georgina Lamb (original member of Frantic Assembly; Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy of Errors, Doctor Faustus, Shakespeare’s Globe); Fight Director Claire Llewellyn for RC-Annie Ltd (Peter Pan, Rose Theatre; Oklahoma!, The Young Vic; Life of Pi, UK tour); and Casting Director Lucy Casson (Hamilton, UK tour; Newsies, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre; Lord of the Flies and Nine Night, Leeds Playhouse).

Photo Credit: Kirsten McTernan

Jessica Baglow

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