imitating the dog’s Innovative Macbeth Puts Stunning Visuals And Immersive Storytelling Centre Stage
William Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and betrayal, featuring live video feeds, projection mapping and a dynamic soundscape, comes to the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 April 2023, in a bold new retelling of Macbeth transports audiences to a dystopian future where power and desire collide in a struggle for survival.
This pioneering production of Macbeth by imitating the dog follows their thought-provoking and boundary-pushing productions at the Playhouse, including Heart of Darkness, Night of the Living Dead – Remix and Dracula: The Untold Story, which wowed audiences and critics alike. Fusing live action with striking video technology, Macbeth is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic play set in a neon-noir world with dazzling visuals, cutting-edge staging and a bold contemporary approach.
In this reimagined version of Macbeth, the traditional Scottish royal and thane hierarchies are transformed into a criminal organisation operating in a city surrounded by concrete buildings. Shakespeare’s language is well woven into this modern gangster patois, along with imitating the dog’s distinctive form of theatre, in which a filmic narrative is created on stage.
Pete Brooks, Co-Director and Artistic Director of imitating the dog said: “We’ve kept a lot of the monologues and dialogues with the Macbeths. They are very poetic and form the play’s core, so they have stayed. When the Macbeths are not in a scene, we’ve taken quite a lot of liberties and added a lot of narrative material. We make work that is challenging, but fun and work that we want to see. We map stories onto different narrative vehicles, the idea of a multimedia story.”
Andrew Quick, Co-Director and Artistic Director of imitating the dog, added: “Macbeth is such an extraordinary play. Shakespeare’s exploration of power, ambition, violence, and love seems so relevant today. We’re bringing a unique take to the original while being true to the spirit of all those amazing words and scenes. It will be a Macbeth as you’ve never seen before – but it’s still Shakespeare.”
The new production’s cast features Benjamin Westerby (All’s Well That Ends Well and Wars of the Roses, Royal Shakespeare Company) as Macbeth and Maia Tamrakar (Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre and Rock, Scissors, Paper, Sheffield Crucible) as Lady Macbeth. The cast will also feature Laura Atherton (Night of The Living Dead™ - Remix, imitating the dog), Stefan Chanyaem (Living Archive, Royal Court Theatre) and Matt Prendergast (Dracula: The Untold Story) as the Witches/Ensemble.
Tickets for imitating the Dog’s production of Macbeth at Liverpool Playhouse are on sale now and can be purchased online or by phone. For further information and to book tickets, please visit Macbeth [imitating the dog] | Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres (everymanplayhouse.com) or call the box office on 0151 709 4776.
