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James McAvoy Stars in ‘MacBeth’ on London’s West End

James McAvoy Stars in ‘MacBeth’ on London’s West End

BAFTA-winner and Golden Globe-nominee James McAvoy will star in a new production of Shakespeare’s “MacBeth” early next year in London’s West End.

The performances are scheduled for February 9-April 27, 2013 at Trafalgar Transformed at the U.K.’s Trafalgar Studios, and will be directed by Jamie Lloyd.

“I am thrilled to announce the first production for Trafalgar Transformed – a season of politically-charged power plays on the doorstep of Whitehall, accompanied by a festival of platform events, discussions and readings,” said Lloyd in a statement. “We hope to welcome new and diverse audiences to the West End and I am very excited to engage with schools and other groups via a series of bespoke workshops and masterclasses.”

Here’s how press notes describe the new production of “Macbeth.”

Shakespeare’s darkest tale play out in a dystopian Scotland brutalized by war. Under a toxic fog, Macbeth begins his tormented struggle for power fueled by ambition and paranoia.

McAvoy told the Daily Mail that he want’s to play the role before he is “too old.”

“I don’t think there’s any age he has to be, but in my mind he’s a captain of men and doing the fighting,” McAvoy said. “He’s someone who has recently found out what it’s like to rip someone’s head off, stick it on a pike and stick it on a castle, and that sounds to me like a young man’s game.”

The actor last appeared on stage in 2009 in Three Days of Rain at London’s Apollo Theatre. That production also was directed by Lloyd. He also has starred in a slew of films, including “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “Wanted,” “Becoming Jane,” “Atonement” and “X-Men: First Class.” He will soon appear in “X Men: Days of Future Past.”

Writer: David Rogers