The Stage

Alan Cumming to perform one-man Macbeth for NTS

Published Friday 25 November 2011 at 13:27 by Thom Dibdin

The National Theatre of Scotland is to stage its first ever Shakespeare in 2012 with Alan Cumming performing a one-man version of Macbeth in Glasgow and New York.

Speaking about his decision to stage the show, Cumming said: “I have been obsessed with the play all my life. It was the first Shakespeare I was in, at the Tron in Glasgow. Speaking to John Tiffany in New York, earlier this year, I had this idea I wanted to swap the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, because there are so many things about gender, I thought it would be a really exciting idea to flip that. So we did this reading like that, in New York, and Andy Goldberg had this idea I should just play all the parts. Never one to refuse a challenge, we decided to do it.”

The NTS season announcement for 2012 also includes a production of Cora Bissett’s Glasgow Girls. The musical about teenage asylum seekers was first seen in a workshop production at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. It will be produced at the Glasgow Citizens in October and will tour to Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2013.

Announcing the season, NTS artistic director Vicky Featherstone said: “The National Theatre of Scotland was created to reach and appeal to a wide range of diverse audiences across Scotland. Our 2012 season, in collaboration with so many of Scotland’s extraordinary artists and companies is an example of that.”

New main-stage productions for the year also include My Shrinking Life, created and performed by Alison Peebles, with direction from Lies Pauwels, about living with MS. It will play the Glasgow Tron in September before embarking on a Scottish tour. Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum is to stage a production of Michel Tremblay’s The Guid Sisters, directed by Serve Denoncourt, also in September. A musical version of The Wicker Man was previously announced.

The company is to renew its relationship with Oran Mor, the producers of the Play, Pie and a Pint lunchtime theatre in Glasgow. David Greig is to curate One Day in Spring, a season of six, one-hour plays from young Arab playwrights inspired by the events of the Arab Spring.

Greig is a leading name in several revivals during the season, with three of his plays being featured. The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is to tour Scotland in April and May with a further UK and international tour in the pipeline. His two plays for young people, Stage Award-winner Monster in The Hall and Yellow Moon will be opening at the Citizens before touring extensively.