Simultaneously with its premiere in Stratford-upon-Avon, The Bard’s Macbeth is being screened live in Budapest. In a fast-paced production by director Polly Findlay, former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston in his Royal Shakespeare Company debut plays Macbeth with musclebound energy. The popularity of the play and Eccleston’s all-ages fan base have already helped sell out almost every seat in the six-month Stratford run, which transfers to London’s Barbican Theatre for a further three months from mid-October. Here in Budapest, opening night is being screened in HD quality and with 5.1 audio tomorrow, April 11th, 8pm at Esernyős in Óbuda.

Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. Driven by their disturbing prophecies, he sets out on the path to murder. Although the story is familiar, this contemporary production of Macbeth offers theatergoers curiosity sprinkled with catharsis. Based in The Bard‘s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Company has created a modern adaption of this thrillingly dark psychological thriller, dramatising the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. At the same time as it premieres at Stratford, Esernyős on Óbuda’s Fő tér broadcasts Macbeth live at 8pm. Don’t forget, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not only known for its twinkling twist on murderous ambition but also for carrying the Scottish curse. According to a theatrical superstition, even saying ‘Macbeth’ inside a theater will cause disaster, even catastrophe. Actors refer to it as ‘The Scottish Play’. Those who fall foul of this custom must exit the theater, spin round three times, spit, curse and then knock on the door to be allowed back in. Hocus-pocus or not, The Scottish Play is a must-see. Tickets (HUF 2,000) were still available at press-time.

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