Owen Teale returns to Macbeth at Clwyd Theatr Cymru

May 2 2008 by Michael Green, Flintshire Chronicle

The last time I saw Owen Teale on TV, he was playing a Welsh cannibal terrorising the heroes of Torchwood.

Since then, he has also played an abusive husband who kept his wife in a box in Marian Again.

On stage, he has earned great plaudits playing in such heavyweight productions as King Lear, A Doll’s House and Julius Caesar.

So no wonder when I ask him what he would like to do in the near future, he exclaims: “Comedy!”

There certainly won’t be many laughs to be had when he makes a welcome return to Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold to star in the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth.

It is a return in more ways than one because one of the highlights of the actor’s career to date came in 1999 when he played the role for Terry Hands in the Emlyn Williams Theatre.

He and Hands are back together and joined again by their Lady Macbeth, Vivien Parry, to take another look at one of the Bard’s most accessible works, this time in the main auditorium of the Anthony Hopkins Theatre.

And if the energy and enthusiasm which is generated by Teale while talking about this new production is anything to go by, this is going to be a Macbeth to remember.

“This is just going to be the most exciting thing I have ever been involved in. Terry Hands has thought about what he did with Macbeth since the last time and he understands what he wants to do with it clearly. He continually leaves me slack-jawed.

“I always thought I would do it again and now we are moving it to the bigger stage, it’s all about not losing the intensity we had before.

“I have learned a hell of a lot about it. This is a play about a good man who makes a mistake and becomes ruthless and ends up killing and turning into a monster.”

Teale admits one of the most satisfying aspects of tackling Shakespeare – especially the same Shakespeare – is the way his plays can look completely different when you return to them.

“When I was asked to do Macbeth again, I did not take long to agree. There is a lot of unfinished business there. I had also played a lot of characters with a dark side in things like Torchwood and Marian Again since last time. I was a younger man in my 30s then, now I’m in my 40s.”

Although the actor agrees he has seen a number of versions of Macbeth which have tinkered with the story and setting to good effect, he describes the new Mold production as ‘one for purists’.

One notorious aspect he doesn’t subscribe to, though, is the curse of Macbeth which he believes is more due to the extremely dark subject matter than any superstition.

“The action of the play spirals like a vortex. It starts off with a lot of people and is then whittled down to this monster who has given his soul to the devil who ends up coming face to face with this good man who has lost his children. It’s a dangerous play and you have to explore that darker side.”

Once his unfinished business with Macbeth is over, Teale will be returning to TV but this time in a new role as the innovator of a project called It’s My Shout which he has been creating with a group of young people in Bridgend for ITV.

“I came up with the basic idea for a short film and this is the kind of thing I would like to do in future, to use my experience to get things like this going. A lot of it has been to do with timing and it just so happens I have had the opportunity to do this now.”

His commitment to the project is so absolute that he has been deliberately turning down work so he can concentrate on it.

“I keep getting these calls from London but this is something I wanted to do right so I made a promise to myself that I am going to take a few weeks just for this.”

And once the project is up and running, no one would bet against his determination to fulfill that desire to lighten up and make people laugh – although he may still rely on Shakespeare for that too: “I fancy doing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing!”

Macbeth can be seen in the Anthony Hopkins Theatre at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold until May 24. Ring the box office on 0845 330 3565 or visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk.