Tickets go on sale for Ralph Fiennes' Macbeth in Liverpool

Tickets have gone on sale for a starry production of Macbeth that will begin its international tour at a Liverpool venue.

Ralph Fiennes will play opposite Indira Varma, of Game of Thrones, when it opens at The Depot in November.

Liverpool city councillor Harry Doyle said: "This is a huge coup for Liverpool. It's massively exciting."

The show will run from 18 November to 16 December before heading off to Edinburgh, London and Washington DC.

The Depot, off Edge Lane, opened in 2021 to capitalise on Liverpool's popularity as a film and TV location.

It has two sound stages of 20,000 sq ft (1,860 sq m) and was purpose built for filming but it has never previously been used as a venue for audiences.

"The theatre itself is currently at the design stage," said a spokesperson for the city council.

"The producers - Wessex Grove and Underbelly - came to the city and looked at several units before choosing The Depot.

"It's never held an audience before.

"So, for instance, there's currently no bar area and an audience of 1,000 poses its challenges, in terms of fire regulations and things."

The Depot is 10 minutes from the city centre and M62, and has secure parking on site.

Mr Doyle praised the city's film office and Culture Liverpool team, who worked with the show's producers to meet their logistical needs.

"Hosting a theatre production with a live audience is a totally new direction for us but it just goes to show what can be achieved when you have the facilities to attract projects of this scale," he said.

The director of Culture Liverpool, Clare McColgan, said they always knew they would attract high-profile projects.

"But we never envisioned it in a theatrical capacity," she said.

"We hope this will be an unforgettable experience for all involved."

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Simon Godwin will direct the production, eight years after he brought Fiennes and Varma together for Man and Superman at the National Theatre.

Godwin said he was "thrilled to be reuniting with Ralph and Indira" for Macbeth, which he described as "a remarkable portrait of a marriage and a terrifying account of the drift towards tyranny".

Fiennes is best known for playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise and M in James Bond.

He has also starred in films including The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Constant Gardener and Schindler's List, which won him a Bafta for best supporting actor in 1993.

Varma played the vengeful Ellaria Sand in Game of Thrones and is currently in Netflix's drama Obsession. She was also cast in Chekhov's The Seagull last year at the National Theatre.

The new adaptation of Macbeth will be jointly produced by Wessex Grove, the team behind current West End hit A Little Life, and Underbelly, the team behind the Olivier-award-winning Cabaret.

The show will open in Liverpool in November before playing in Edinburgh in January, London in February and Washington DC in April 2024.

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