New theatre company Baz Productions present a new take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the Crypt of St Andrew, Holborn, opening tomorrow night (20 October 2011, previews from 18 October). Here, they give us five good reasons to go along…
2. The Venue
How often do you get to go to the theatre and share your space with a 600 year-old body still in his funeral shroud? The Sir Christopher Wren designed Crypt was exhumed of its plague ridden inhabitants in 2001 to reveal the bare brick walls of this hidden underground venue in central London. With its shadowy bays and crumbling architecture the tale seeps out of the walls as the story is retold every evening in this flexible performance space.
3. The Game
Told with five actors, the company has spent two years developing a unique approach to text and verse that embraces the rejection of inevitability and casts off gender casting. We put a well-trained team into a space and watch them stay in the moment, empowering the audience to actively engage in the event as the actors deftly swap characters and locations.
4. The Look
The empty crypt has been brought alive with inventive lighting solutions, designed and built from scratch with materials such as baked bean tins and disposed office lighting. With zero set the power to tell story through lighting is central and enhanced by the collaborative process of designer and director.
5. The Rest
It doesn’t start and end with Macbeth. We are opening our doors from 6pm and invite you to come and join us for a drink in this beautiful venue. From 6-7pm we’re offering a mixture of free live music and poetry to enjoy underground. A perfect post-work location in the centre of town that makes a change from the typical bland venues.
Macbeth continues until 5 November.