Shakespeare’s Macbeth is retold in Frome by Globe Theatre’s resident storyteller

The resident storyteller at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will visit Frome this month for a bold and moving retelling of Macbeth. 

Debs Newbold, storyteller, writer, performer and storytelling consultant to the Globe Theatre will come to perform at Mr Rook’s Speak Easy, Frome’s storytelling club, on Thursday 16th November.

A story of ambition and treachery, Debs’ performance, entitled ‘Macbeth Retold’ catapults its audiences into the turbulent world of an honoured hero who, spurred by a prophecy and the ambition of his wife, steps onto a path of murder that leads to tyranny, civil war and madness.

Building on a passionate command of Shakespeare’s verse, Debs unleashes a dazzling stream of verbal improvisation and physical dynamism to take the audience on a journey through this well-known dramatic, shocking and deeply human story.  This is Shakespeare retold for everyone – and especially those who think Shakespeare is ‘not for them’.  Debs’ performance aims to make Shakespeare accessible in a new way, with all the power and grace of the original text presented by one only voice in a powerfully engaging style.

Director of Mr Rook’s Speak Easy, Lisa Kenwright is excited to be hosting such an exciting reworking Macbeth. She said: “Mr Rook’s aims to bring storytelling to new audiences, so it’s fantastic to welcome Debs to the autumn programme. This performance puts a fresh perspective on Macbeth, but in a way that is sensitive to the original, making it a great performance for those who are die-hard fans, and those who maybe need more convincing about the bard.”

Twice voted one of the top five acts at the Towersey Festival (the only spoken word artist in its 50-year history ever to achieve this), winner of the 2016 Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe Award for Acting Excellence, and lead storyteller for Shakespeare’s Globe, Debs Newbold is recognised as one of the UK’s leading performers of c

However, she is not a life-long fan of the Bard. When describing her inspiration for retelling Shakespeare, Debs explains that she came to Shakespeare after many years of avoiding him. She said, “ He always seemed too dense and impenetrable to me.  Now I want to help make Shakespeare feel more accessible to those who do not think it is for them.  Because it is for them…it is for all of us.  It is something beautiful, written by a human for other humans….”

Macbeth Retold by Debs Newbold, part of Mr Rook’s Speak Easy’s autumn programme, will be at Rook Lane Chapel, Bath Street, Frome, Thursday 16th November at 7.30pm and is suitable for ages 12+. Tickets are £9 / £7 from billetto.com (search for Mr Rook’s Speak Easy) or on the door. For more information on this and other events find Mr Rook’s Speak Easy on Facebook.