SHAKESPEARE’S Macbeth is being given a dramatic Oldham makeover as the Coliseum Theatre launches this year’s autumn-winter programme.
The new adaptation will see audiences enter Liquid & Envy in Oldham for a 19-performance run from October 23 to November 7.
The production marks the first show from new Creative Director Nick Bagnall.
Rather than a traditional theatre setting, it will transform the nightclub into a world of ambition, power and violence, with the action relocated to a gritty late-1970s setting inspired by Oldham’s clubs, mills and changing social landscape.
Nick said Macbeth was the ideal production to introduce his creative vision for the Coliseum’s next chapter.
“Macbeth asks profound questions about power, identity and what it means to be a man,” he said. “Those questions feel urgent in a proud industrial town like Oldham that is navigating huge social and economic change.
“I want to blow the dust off Shakespeare. This isn’t about putting the play on a pedestal, it’s about creating an experience that grabs people by the throat, whether they have seen Macbeth ten times or never encountered it before.
“We want people who have never set foot in a theatre to walk into Liquid & Envy and feel this story belongs to them. Staging Macbeth inside a working Oldham nightclub creates its own intrigue.”
The production will explore themes including masculinity, identity and ambition, while using music and supernatural elements to create an atmosphere influenced by close-harmony vocal traditions.
‘A huge moment for the Coliseum’
It comes as the Coliseum continues its journey back to its refurbished historic home on Fairbottom Street, with the theatre determined to keep producing large-scale work while operating from temporary and alternative venues.
Chief Executive Martina Murphy said: “This is a huge moment for the Coliseum. Nick’s Macbeth is uncompromising, thrilling and unmistakably of this place, and it announces exactly the kind of theatre we intend to make.
“As we continue our journey back to Fairbottom Street, we are determined to keep creating ambitious work that surprises audiences and reaches people wherever they are. Macbeth demonstrates that the Coliseum isn’t waiting for its building to return before making theatre of national significance.”
The autumn-winter season will also feature a wide variety of performances, including Oldham-born artist Mark Newsome’s You’re My World, spoken word and hip hop production Saints on a Bridge from Testament, and dance theatre show Juliet & Romeo from Lost Dog.
Other highlights include immersive bus journey experience JOY RIDE, interactive social deduction game The Night of the Werewolves, circus and physical theatre production The Hideout, and family festive show Peter Pan.
The programme also includes comedy performances from Stephen Bailey, Tez Ilyas and Mick Ferry, alongside workshops, creative events and conversations with artists.
Macbeth tickets range from £15 concessions to £28 standard admission, with performances taking place at Liquid & Envy on Retiro Street in Oldham. Tickets are available online here: https://coliseum.org.uk/whats-on/macbeth/#bookNow