by William Shakespeare
seen at the Barbican Theatre on 6 October 2017
This is a revival of Yukio Ninagawa's famous 1980 production of Macbeth, first seen in Britain in 1987. Last year Ninagawa died at the age of 80, still working on this and other productions (many of them Shakespearean), and this revival is touring as a tribute and memorial to him by his company. It features Masachika Ishimura as Macbeth and Yuko Tanaka as Lady Macbeth, with Kasunaga Tsuji as Banquo, Kwia Oishi as Macduff and Tetsuro Sagawa as Duncan, and a large supporting cast. The production, with a set designed by Kappa Senoh, was given in Japanese with English surtitles (naturally, and abbreviated Shakespearean text, though the spoken words were more extensive than the text provided).
