Macbeth - Tron Theatre Glasgow, Iain Glen

Whilst thinking about Shakespearean productions I've seen I was reminded of this 1993 Glasgow Tron/Dundee Rep production of Macbeth. I love the theatre and have seen many productions that have been thought provoking, stimulating or emotional but none have been as electrifying as this. It was shown as part of the long lamented Glasgow 'Mayfest' festival at the then unrenovated (and a million times more atmospheric) Tron Theatre. It starred;

Iain Glen 
Macbeth

Alison Peebles
 Lady Macbeth

Peter Mullan 
Macduff

Fiona Bell 
Lady Macduff

Tom McGovern
 Malcolm

Stuart McQuarrie
 Ross

Robert Carr
 Banquo

'Glen is a moving Macbeth, pitiful and dependent as his mind fills with scorpians, bent double with remorse before Banquo's ghost. The onset of his resolution is frightening to behold.' The Observer, Michael Coveney

'Iain Glen's Macbeth is a performance of the utmost distinction. Lady Macbeth frets about the milk of human kindness in her husband: Glen is the first actor I have seen to show this in action. His Macbeth is both dreamer and doer, handsome, generous, frank-faced and anxious to be liked. His soldierly qualities seem beyond doubt: The Witches' prophecy makes him uneasy: you watch the inner life of a highly emotional man being polluted by poisonous thoughts. His relationship with his spitfire wife (Alison Peebles) is more than just sexual. He is tied to her by a deep bond of feeling which strengthens rather than undermines his masculinity. This is a heroic Macbeth, but under the spreading mask of evil a sense of fugitive humanity keeps flashing at you. As the end draws near, Glen's face begins to look battered and ravaged, a portrait of terror. He is both ominously calm and belligerent; symptoms of a permanent hysteria. Flecks of foam appear on his lips. A fallen angel.' Sunday Times, John Peter

'The temptation to rave about Iain Glen in the lead role has to be measured against the production's many riches. This is no imbalanced star vehicle, but an intellectually, physically and emotionally coherent interpretation that makes sense at every turn: Michael Boyd has made this 400-year-old tragedy, for all its set-text familiarity, fresh and alive, newly gripping and brimming with ideas.' The List, Mark Fisher

'The production, set to somber playing by three all-seeing cellists, is brimful of stunning devices that eschew familiarity and force a radical re-examination of the play. The final sword fight between Macbeth and Peter Mullan's Macduff is a breathtaking and stomach-churning clash for survival and revenge.' The Scotsman, Richard Mowe