Macbeth

Synopsis: Studio-bound television adaptation by Cedric Messina, directed by John Gorrie. With Eric Porter in the title role and Janet Suzman as Lady Macbeth.
Series: Play of the Month
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Television
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Transmission details: 20 Sep 1970 at 20:15 (Channel: BBC1)
Duration: 135 mins

Director

John Gorrie

Producer

Writer

Music

Costume

Art Direction

Cast

Eric Porter	Macbeth
Janet Suzman	Lady Macbeth
John Woodvine	Macduff
John Alderton	Malcolm
John Thaw	Banquo
Alan Rowe	Ross
Colin Fisher	Caithness
Daphne Heard	Witch
David Sadgrove	Young Siward
David Spenser	Seyton
Donald Douglas	Lennox
Geoffrey Palmer	Menteith
George Merritt	Old Man
Hilary Mason	Witch
John Bailey (2)	Doctor of Physic
John Kelland	Messenger
Leon Eagles	Murderer
Malcolm McFee	Fleance
Michael Beint	Sergeant
Michael Goodliffe	King Duncan
Nicholas Dashwood	Boy (Macduff’s son)
Norman Tyrrell	Siward, Earl of Northumberland
Paul Greenhalgh	Servant
Ray Davis	Servant
Robin Browne (2)	Donalbain
Rosamund Burne	Gentlewoman
Rowena Cooper	Lady Macduff
Sylvia Coleridge	Witch
Tony Caunter	Murderer
Wolfe Morris	Porter

History: Part of a series of eight Shakespeareare plays produced for BBC by Cedric Messina, who was to launch the production of the BBC TV Shakespeare series three years later. Transmitted in the US on Channel Ten’s ‘The Classic Theatre’ series 27 September 1975.
Reviews: For an assessmant of the production’s cinematic realisation as well as its transmission history in the USA, see Rothwell, Kenneth S. and Annabelle Henkin Melzer, Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography (London: Mansell, 1990), entry 327, pp 162-163.

British Universities Film & Video Council