Macbeth to be performed in town's last nightclub

While the Oldham Coliseum Theatre's doors remain closed during its major revamp, the creative team has needed to think outside the box when deciding where to temporarily decamp.

They have chosen the last remaining nightclub in the Greater Manchester town to stage William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

"I want to blow the dust off Shakespeare," said the Coliseum's new creative director Nick Bagnall.

"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 10 times or never encountered it before.

"We want people who have never set foot in a theatre to walk into Liquid and Envy and feel this story belongs to them.

"Staging Macbeth inside a working Oldham nightclub creates its own intrigue."

This will be a different experience for the actors too, moving from the stage to the to a once sticky dancefloor covered in spilled drinks.

Andy Sheridan, who plays Macbeth, has previously appeared in HBO's Industry as well as Channel 4's The Couple Next Door.

He said: "I think it's really important for Oldham to set such an important play that is so famous in an iconic venue in this town.

"It's so accessible to everyone."

The audience will be seated in the booths and stools to watch the show, which has shifted the action to the 1970s world of gangsters, casinos and shifting social codes.

The aim was to create a performance of Macbeth that feels closer to a night out than a night at the theatre, without losing the force of Shakespeare's language.

Martina Murphy, the Coliseum's chief executive, 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."

Oldham's Coliseum Theatre is being refurbished after a long campaign to save the venue, backed by former Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.

The theatre is now expected to reopen in 2027 after securing an extra £7m grant to clear the asbestos and fix structural defects beneath a staircase.

Macbeth runs at Liquid and Envy in Oldham from 23 October to 7 November.

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