UP NEXT: Dunsinane

“Dunsinane is a new play, inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, by one of Scotland’s greatest contemporary writers, David Greig,” says STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn. “If it had been available for us to put it on, I believe we would have done it. However, the National Theatre of Scotland, with whom we have had a great relationship since Black Watch, decided to bring their production
to the United States, and we were very eager to include it in our season. It is a contemporary play that fits uniquely into our mission, because it deals with the
after effects of Macbeth’s defeat on Scotland. All the characters are people that audiences
will recognize from the  Scottish Play. In Greig’s most brilliant conceit, Lady Macbeth
leads the resistance against the English occupying army. Not only does it give us a new perspective on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it also gives us a new perspective on Scotland’s relationship with England.”

Dunsinane
A dramatic sequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, David Greig’s Dunsinane by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company is a vision of one man’s attempt to restore peace in a country ravaged by war. Under cover of night, an English army has swept through Scotland, killed the tyrant Macbeth and taken the seat of power. Siward, the English commanding officer, tries to put in place a new ruler while beset by a brutal guerrilla uprising and simmering discontent amongst his troops. Struggling to grasp the alien customs and politics of this harsh country, he finds himself drawn towards Macbeth’s powerful widow in search of someone to share his burden of responsibility. Increasingly isolated from his own men and Scottish allies alike, his efforts to restore order appear futile as the situation spins out of control.

Written from the perspective of a Scot, Dunsinane examines the struggle of a foreign invader to grasp local customs and politics while trying to restore order in a war-torn land.

The National Theatre of Scotland returns to the Shakespeare Theatre Company with David Greig’s Dunsinane. This production
continues the relationship between the two companies, which includes the highly praised 2012 Presentation Series performance of Black Watch and David Greig’s play-in-a-pub, The Strange Undoing
of Prudencia Hart, presented at the Bier Baron tavern.

Dunsinane plays Sidney Harman Hall February 4-21.