Fabricated Players announce bold new production of Macbeth without Macbeth

THE Fabricated Players have announced a radical new interpretation of Macbeth in which Macbeth will not appear, after nobody suitable auditioned for the role.

Director Susan insists the absence of Shakespeare’s central character is an intentional artistic decision designed to explore “the presence created by absence”.

She said: “Macbeth dominates this play.

“So I started asking myself: what happens if we remove Macbeth completely?

“Admittedly, I started asking myself this about ten minutes after Brian said he couldn’t do Tuesdays.”

The production will retain every other character, with Macbeth’s lines replaced by meaningful silences during which the cast stare towards an empty part of the stage.

Lady Macbeth will perform entire conversations alone.

Susan said: “When she says, ‘Glamis thou art, and Cawdor’, she’ll be addressing an empty chair.

“It’s incredibly powerful.

“We’re hoping.”

The murder of Duncan has required significant restructuring.

Rather than Macbeth committing the murder, Duncan will simply die offstage from unspecified causes while everyone agrees Macbeth probably had something to do with it.

Banquo will later be murdered by two assassins acting on instructions nobody actually gave them.

Cast member Sheila said: “I asked why the murderers would kill Banquo if Macbeth doesn’t exist.

“Susan said that sort of literal thinking is exactly what the production is challenging.”

Macbeth’s coronation will consist of the ensemble placing a crown on an empty stool.

His banquet scene will feature guests repeatedly congratulating an unoccupied chair on becoming King of Scotland.

The chair is already being praised for its stillness.

Susan said: “There’s something deeply unsettling about watching an entire country reorganise itself around someone who isn’t there.

“It speaks to power, identity and the fragility of political structures.

“Also, we genuinely cannot find a man aged 30 to 55 who can learn that much Shakespeare.”

The famous “Is this a dagger which I see before me?” soliloquy will be represented by a dagger sitting alone under a spotlight for approximately four minutes.

The “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech has been replaced by three projected words:

TOMORROW

TOMORROW

TOMORROW

Susan described the sequence as “almost Beckettian”.

The technical team described it as “three PowerPoint slides”.

Macduff’s climactic fight with Macbeth has also been reimagined.

Macduff will enter carrying a sword, fight furiously with nobody for several minutes and eventually announce that he has won.

Cast members say this is currently the most convincing stage combat in the production.

The society has denied that the concept is simply an emergency response to casting difficulties.

Publicity materials describe the production as “Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy stripped of its protagonist, forcing audiences to confront the terrifying void at the centre of ambition.”

The original poster said:

MACBETH WANTED – PLEASE MESSAGE US URGENTLY.

That has now been deleted.

Susan believes audiences will barely notice the missing character.

She said: “Macbeth is really more of an idea than a person.”

Auditions reopen Tuesday.