MACBETH Will Come to Waterstones Gower Street for Halloween

Bard in the Bookshop will present Macbeth at Waterstones Gower Street in London on Halloween weekend, October 31 and November 1. The production, directed by Victoria Gartner, will feature a cast of 13 actors performing Shakespeare’s tragedy throughout the bookshop, described as Europe’s largest. Performances are scheduled for Saturday, October 31, at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, November 1, at 1 p.m.

Bard in the Bookshop is a project launched by Gartner, artistic director of Will & Co, in partnership with Waterstones Gower Street. The initiative aims to perform all of Shakespeare’s plays in the aisles of a working bookshop, bringing theater to audiences in an unconventional setting. The Macbeth production will feature lighting for the first time, alongside a promenade format that leads audiences through the building.

The production follows sold-out presentations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Antony & Cleopatra. The project began with a nine-actor production of Romeo and Juliet for an audience of approximately 30 bookshop customers. It has since grown into a repertory company of 98 actors and welcomed more than 600 audience members. The company has presented 12 Shakespeare plays to date and aims to stage the remaining 25.

The cast of Macbeth includes Luke Farrugia, Zora Owen, Laolu Awogbade, Kerill Kelly, Risha Silvera, Ronan Kelly, Janhavi Shivalkar, Nadia Nadif, Tommy Tancock, Taylor Carmen, Zacchaeus Kayode, Chase Studinski and Ella Boyes.

Gartner directs, with Emma Nihill serving as associate director and Kai Lewis as assistant director and producer. Charlie Mackellar is executive producer, Farrugia is associate producer, and Kelly oversees marketing and social media. Lighting is provided by Lamplight Productions.

The production is developed through approximately 16 hours of rehearsals in the working bookshop, with the project operating on a profit-share basis. The organizers say the format aims to make Shakespeare more accessible to people who might not otherwise attend traditional theater performances, including bookshop customers, tourists, students and families.

Bard in the Bookshop was established through the collaboration of Gartner and Michael Korel, bookshop manager at Waterstones Gower Street. Korel wanted to bring theater into the bookshop to surprise and engage readers, while Gartner sought opportunities for actors to develop their creative skills. The project combines those goals by presenting Shakespeare in a public space where audiences can encounter the work unexpectedly.

Will & Co was founded by Gartner in 2015 and has toured productions in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The company has received Offie nominations for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, while producer Charlie Mackellar received the Stage One Bursary Award and Gartner received the Swiss National Grant for Playwriting.

The company’s Bard in the Yard project brought 23 actors into private gardens to perform socially distanced shows in summer 2021. In 2022, the project expanded to outdoor theaters, care homes, pubs, parking lots and churchyards.

Performances of Macbeth will take place at Waterstones Gower Street in London on October 31 at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and November 1 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available online through Ticket Tailor or at the door.