Scottish star James McAvoy will star in Jamie Lloyd’s production of Macbeth as part of a new programme of work at the Trafalgar Studio 1 next year.
One of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies, Macbeth will play at the Whitehall venue from 9 February to 27 April and marks the first play in Trafalgar Transformed, a season of political plays that will be accompanied by a festival of platform events, discussions and readings.
McAvoy, who is well known for his on screen credits in films including The Last King Of Scotland, Atonement and X-Men, was last seen on stage in Lloyd’s production of Three Days Of Rain at the Apollo theatre, for which he received an Olivier Award nomination. The BAFTA-winning actor’s other theatre credits include Breathing Corpses at the Royal Court, Privates On Parade at the Donmar Warehouse and Out In The Open at the Hampstead theatre.
Lloyd, whose production of The Duchess Of Malfi starring Eve Best played at the Old Vic earlier this year, has enjoyed an extensive career in the West End having directed productions including She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre, Inadmissable Evidence and The Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Donmar Warehouse, and The Faith Machine and The Pride at the Royal Court, which won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre.
Talking about his upcoming production, Lloyd said: “I am thrilled to announce the first production for Trafalgar Transformed, a season of politically-charged power plays on the doorstep of Whitehall. We hope to welcome new and diverse audiences to the West End and I am very excited to engage with schools and other groups via a series of bespoke workshops and masterclasses.”
As part of Trafalgar Transformed, producers of the show Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) are offering day tickets for £10 and £15 tickets on Mondays, half of which will be made available through ATG’s creative learning department, which targets schools and first time theatregoers.
Macbeth will open at the Trafalgar Studios following Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn’s hit political comedy Yes, Prime Minister, which ends its run on 12 January prior to a national tour.