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Macbeth, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Misguided mangling of Shakespeare's darkest tragedy
Centre stage: Lucy Ellinson as Macbeth
[Johan Persson]
ED WAUGH introduces a special event to commemorate the centenary of the 1926 General Strike
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IAN SINCLAIR draws our attention to a film, available for everyone to use, to stimulate community discussion and active engagement in the climate emergency
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WITH productions of Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and, more recently, Maxine Peake’s acclaimed performance as Hamlet, the Royal Exchange has earned itself an excellent reputation for staging exciting, enthralling and innovative interpretations of Shakespeare’s work.
The omens for this production of Macbeth were good. Having two women play Duncan and Macbeth offered the opportunity to move women centre stage as warrior queens rather than scheming wives or batty witches.
But, as in the play itself, omens are more often portents of disaster.
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