Synopsis

‘... never seen a production as achingly beautiful as Yukio Ninagawa’s Macbeth.’ The Guardian
A tour de force by the late Japanese theatre guru Yukio Ninagawa, who is honoured as ‘the world's Ninagawa’, NINAGAWA Macbeth is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic in unique aesthetics.
NINAGAWA Macbeth adapts the story of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, and sets in Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japan in the late 16th century. The original Scottish warriors are transformed into samurais and the Great Birnam Wood is turned to a forest of cherry blossoms. Ninagawa’s ability to perfectly harmonize the Eastern and Western theatre traditions into visually spellbinding amalgams are accentuated by the huge butsudan (Buddhist altar) as the stage set and the scenes of cherry trees in full blossom of magnificent beauty. Premiered in Tokyo in 1980, the production was toured internationally and was lately reproduced after over 30 years with a strong line-up of Japan’s famous stars. The ambitious Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are played by eminent artists Masachika Ichimura and Yuko Tanaka.