Thursday, December 26

Tag: Adam Best

MacBeth (An Undoing) – Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
Scotland

MacBeth (An Undoing) – Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

Macbeth is often one of the first Shakespeare stories that we think of, it's known for: its scottish setting, it's themes of betrayal and manipulation and of course for its gory and dramatic ending. The tale is often told in the same manner time and time again, the tale of a man being told by a group of witches that he will be king, a manipulative wife who convinces him to murder the current monarch and the insanity and guilt that rips the married couple apart until ultimately, she commits suicide, and he is slain by a former friend. Whilst the original story exists within Macbeth An Undoing, writer Zinnie Harris has turned the tale on its head, asking what would happen if it were Lady Macbeth who took control? What if she had not gone crazy and instead Macbeth himself was the one takin...
The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Lyric Hammersmith
London

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Lyric Hammersmith

The current revival of Martin McDonagh's 1996 play, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" recently completed a successful run at Chichester and has now transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith.  Mag, a mean elderly woman, is being looked after by her daughter, Maureen, an equally mean middle-aged woman who yearns to get away from the stifling and constricted life she leads looking after her demanding and manipulative mother in the isolation of a Connemara cottage. The unexpected return of an old friend, Pato, offers Maureen the chance of escape but Mag is determined to scupper her daughter's chance of a new life, which would leave her alone and without her carer. These are two women who are deeply flawed and unable to tell each other the truth - Mag hiding the fact that she doesn't need to rely e...