Early Buzz: Macbeth (Park Avenue Armory)
While Ethan Hawke is doing his version of Macbeth at Lincoln Center, Kenneth Branagh is preparing to bring his own rendition from Manchester, England to the Park Avenue Armory in New York City this coming May. It will be Branagh’s New York stage debut.
Branagh’s Macbeth will arrive at New York after a sold-out and critically acclaimed run at the Manchester International Festival last summer. Branagh, who also co-directed the show with Rob Ashford, hasn’t done a Shakespearean role in more than a decade. He will play opposite Alex Kingston (Lady Macbeth).
Critics in England praised the production. The New Statesman called Branagh’s performance “masterful,” and The Guardian said that “at times [Branagh] evoked golden memories of Olivier.” The Telegraph went all out and described the production as “thrilling,” saying that it “won’t just go down as a highlight of the Manchester International Festival but as one of the Scottish Play’s great revivals.”
Previews begin May 31, 2014. Tickets are on sale now and, despite being quite expensive, they’re selling fast. A seat in the first four rows (lovingly referred to as a “mud seat” because you’re so close to the muddy staging you’re advised to wear a rain slicker) will cost you over $200.
TICKETS
$19-$215 (click here for tickets)
DATES
May 31 through June 22, 2014 (official opening June 5, 2014)
LOCATION
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
TBD
NEWS & REVIEWS
Past Review
Manchester, England, 2013
The Guardian
This is an exciting production that shows why Branagh is such a fine Shakespearean actor
Independent
Certainly, this production has dramatic thrills… And yet the overall effect is curiously dull.
The New Statesman
A masterful portrayal of a murderer
New York Times
Something wicked this way runs
The Telegraph
A thrilling and cinematically fluid production of Macbeth is a triumph for Kenneth Branagh
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford
Featuring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston