Dunsinane (play)

Dunsinane is a 2010 play by David Greig. It premiered in a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Hampstead Theatre from 10 February to 6 March 2010, directed by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert and with leads including Siobhan Redmond and Jonny Phillips.

Its narrative is formed by the events following the defeat of Macbeth by Malcolm and an English army in the Battle of Dunsinane at the end of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. In Greig’s version, Lady Macbeth is known as Gruach and outlives her second husband Macbeth (she had had Macbeth kill her first husband) to continue to claim the Moray claim to the throne via herself and her son by her first marriage. The playwright parallels the attempted nation-building by the English leader Siward and the continued bloodshed against the English occupying forces with contemporary events in Afghanistan and Iraq.^[1] He also includes the Shakespearean characters MacDuff and Malcolm, as well as introducing new characters such as Siward’s English subordinate Lord Egham and a chorus of English soldiers.

A radio adaptation premiered on BBC Radio 3 directed by Roxana Silbert and with original songs and music composed by Nick Powell on 30 January 2011^[2]. The cast included:

• Siward ..... Jonny Phillips
• Gruach ..... Siobhan Redmond
• The Boy Soldier ..... Jack Farthing
• Malcolm ..... Brian Ferguson
• MacDuff ..... Ewan Stewart
• Egham ..... Alex Mann
• Edward ..... Daniel Rose
• Eric ..... Joshua Jenkins
• Lulach ..... Sandy Grierson
• Hen Girl ..... Lisa Hogg

References

1. ^ Guardian review
2. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00y233t/Drama_on_3_Dunsinane/