Ensemble and Director Set For MACBETH at Shakespeare North Playhouse

Shakespeare North Playhouse will host a candlelit production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Taking the reins as Director,  Curator and Co-Facilitator is Ben Crystal, and Associate Director & Co-Facilitator  will be Andrew Codispoti. 

The ensemble of Macbeth comprises of Devon Anderson (A Deportational Road, Hollyoaks), Kate  Benfield (Lights On/Lights Off, Tiring House Productions), Andrew Codispoti (Bridge Ensemble, Incite  Shakespeare Company Santa Fe), Cranks (EastEnders, Coronation Street), Ben Crystal (MadFabulous,  The Shakespeare Ensemble), Jen Hardy (The Rubbish Shakespeare Company, The Seriously Stupid Show),  Megs Kumari (World’s Most Evil Killers, Jacqueline Wilson Is Gay), Macsen McKay (Under Milk Wood,  Werwulf), Callum Sim (Book of Will, Half Man) and Janelle Thompson (Emmerdale, The VAR Room).  Music will be improvised and performed live by Semay Wu (Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, New String  Collective).

Following an open casting call with workshop auditions at LIPA, artists have been selected as part of an  ensemble. The actors will work from cue-scripts, only in possession of their character’s lines, and their  cues of when to speak, enter, and exit. 

Director, Curator and Co-Facilitator, Ben Crystal said: “It's an honour to be directing Macbeth at  Shakespeare North Playhouse. We’ll use candle-light to build an enchanting and haunting atmosphere.  We’ll rehearse using my "Quick-raise" approach, inspired by Elizabethan theatre techniques. We'll learn  the stage-craft of this incredible theatre, which will allow us to improvise our blocking - so the show will  be played slightly differently every night.” 

Associate Director & Co-Facilitator, Andrew Codispoti said: “This is an ensemble production led by the  ensemble. We’ll use Shakespeare’s original words and minimal props. The set is the Cockpit Theatre itself. We’ll speak with our own accents, just like Shakespeare’s actors. It will be a playful, exciting, and  haunted 90-minute show. Each performance will be unique, and we hope that audiences will come back  for more.” 

Chief Executive of Shakespeare North Playhouse, Lisa Allen said: “We are delighted to welcome our  Associate Artist Ben Crystal back to Shakespeare North to curate a uniquely atmospheric reimagining of  Macbeth. Working collaboratively with our talented ensemble, Ben’s ‘quick raise’ approach draws on  the traditional techniques of Shakespearean performance to bring this powerful tragedy to life in just a  matter of weeks. We look forward to welcoming audiences from across the region and beyond to  experience a truly distinctive production, one they won’t see anywhere else.” 

Ben Crystal is an Associate Artist with Shakespeare North Playhouse. He is the author of Shakespeare on  Toast and Springboard Shakespeare. 

This autumn, audiences are invited to experience Macbeth like never before with a fast, spooky, blood spattered staging of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works—ambition-driven, greed-flecked,  grief-filled, revenge-fuelled, ghost-haunted… and absolutely cursed. 

Macbeth will premiere at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot from Friday 11 September – Saturday 3 October with official opening and press night on Tuesday 15 September. 

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