Macbeth on tour in 2026
4 November 2025
Marty Rea, Marie Mullen and company in Macbeth by William Shakespeare; photo by Ros Kavanagh.
The five-star production will play Galway, Belfast and Limerick in spring 2026.
Druid today announced a three-city tour of its acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The five-star show will play Galway’s Black Box Theatre, Belfast’s Lyric Theatre and Limerick’s Lime Tree Theatre in March and April 2026.
This new tour follows sold-out runs earlier this year in Galway and Dublin where the production earned multiple five-star reviews, with critics describing it as ‘magnificent … extraordinarily accomplished’ (The Irish Times), ‘electrifying … compelling’ (The Guardian), ‘an extraordinary production’ (Arena, RTÉ Radio 1), ‘spirited, soul-touching ... thrilling, profound, intricate’ (The Observer), ‘unrelenting, passionate, gruesome and brilliant’ (Irish Independent), ‘extraordinarily effective ... exhilarating theatre’ (Sunday Independent), and ‘by far the best [production of Macbeth] I’ve seen anywhere’ (Fintan O’Toole, writing in The Irish Times).
In this production of Macbeth, Druid bring their visceral and uniquely Irish perspective to one of Shakespeare’s fiercest and bloodiest tragedies, known famously as The Scottish Play. Garry Hynes directs a cast of 11 of Ireland’s finest actors, led by Marty Rea as Macbeth and Marie Mullen as Lady Macbeth, with further casting to be announced.
Macbeth follows Druid’s internationally acclaimed DruidShakespeare (2015) and Richard III (2018), continuing the company’s exploration of the Bard’s canon, “a mad dynamic pageant of fire, blood, guts and spunk” (Irish Examiner on DruidShakespeare).
Garry Hynes, Director of Macbeth and Druid’s Artistic Director: ‘We are immensely proud of this production of Macbeth, produced in our 50th anniversary year. We look forward to returning to Galway next spring and then taking the show on the road to visit audiences in Belfast and Limerick. We’re very grateful to our audiences and also our tour venue partners and our funders and supporters, in particular the Arts Council of Ireland for making this tour possible.’
Since 1975, Druid have toured the length and breadth of the country to bring world-class theatre to audiences in their own communities, and have proudly toured to all 32 counties on the island of Ireland in their first five decades of operation. Macbeth is produced in Druid’s home city of Galway, with costumes created at the company’s Nuns’ Island Costume Department and sets constructed in its Ballybane Set Workshop, in line with Druid’s commitments to sustainability and local employment.
Tour Dates
- Galway, 25 March – 5 April 2026, Black Box Theatre
- Belfast, 16 – 18 April 2026, Lyric Theatre
- Limerick, 23 – 25 April 2026, Lime Tree Theatre
Tickets are on sale now for all three cities.
A number of schools performances will be delivered as part of the tour with ticket discounts available for students, with a range of educational resources freely available.
Reviews
- ★★★★★ 'magnificent horror ... extraordinarily accomplished ... riveting' The Irish Times
- ★★★★★ 'Rea’s electrifying Macbeth ... Mullen’s compelling Lady Macbeth ... the pace is unflagging, the menace unrelenting' The Guardian
- ★★★★★ 'There are echoes of earlier Druid takes on Shakespeare here ... But there is an intensity and directness here that perhaps surpasses any of those' Irish Examiner
- ★★★★★ 'an extraordinary production ... deeply embodied, raw performances' Arena, RTÉ Radio 1
- ★★★★★ 'thrilling ... a very Irish version of 'The Scottish Play' ... Marty Rea may well deliver one of the finest performances of his career ... a truly magical experience' Galway Advertiser
- ★★★★★ 'a tour de force ... immersive staging, sharp direction, and exceptional performances' Richard's Theatre Reviews
- 'Garry Hynes's production is by far the best I've seen anywhere' Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times
- 'spirited, soul-touching ... thrilling, profound, intricate … performances of extraordinary interlocking intensity by Rea and Mullen' The Observer
- 'unrelenting, passionate, gruesome and brilliant ... a privilege to see this startling work … 'two towering performances from Rea and Mullen as the titular couple anchor the show ... a terrific psychological dynamic' Irish Independent
- 'extraordinarily effective ... exhilarating theatre … [Marty] Rea, one of Ireland’s greatest living theatre actors, delivers the sort of performance that audiences will talk about for decades' Sunday Independent
- ★★★★ 'not for the faint of heart ... be prepared to be seriously blown away' The Arts Review