James McAvoy: Macbeth reviews, and 'Neverwhere' cast photo

James McAvoy in Macbeth, Trafalgar Studios, review
Macbeth, starring James McAvoy, packs a powerful punch says Charles Spencer.

James McAvoy and Claire Foy in Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios. Photo: Johan Persson

James McAvoy, best known as a film actor, proves a commanding Macbeth, and the relationship with his wife is powerfully caught. The text makes it clear that the couple had a child who died in infancy and McAvoy and Claire Foy as Lady Macbeth suggest both an undertow of grief and the sense that their murderous ambition is some kind of sick compensation for their loss.
At the start it is Foy’s Lady Macbeth who leads the way, like a bossy schoolgirl who has set her heart on becoming head-girl. Unlike his morally blind wife, however, Macbeth knows what murder will cost, and initially at least, has a strong sense of what is right. McAvoy thrillingly suggests a man on the rack of his own guilty mind who learns that the only way to secure his position and silence his conscience is to become inured to atrocity with further killings.
He also does full justice to the haunting poetry of the last act in which Macbeth realises just what he has lost - not least himself and any sense of purpose or meaning in life. It is the reason that Macbeth is a genuinely tragic character and not just a serial killer.

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Source (including photo): Telegraph

More reviews at
The Independent
Metro
Contact Music
Herald Scotland
Entertainment Wise
London Theatre 

Macbeth-related interviews with James McAvoy at
London Evening Standard
Time Out


Neverwhere
First photo and air date revealed
An exclusive look at the first official cast shot for the Radio 4 adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantasy drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Sophie Okonedo and David Harewood

From Radio Times:

As anticipation mounts among fantasy fans ahead of the Radio 4/4 Extra co-production of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, RadioTimes.com can reveal the first exclusive shot of the star-studded cast, which reads like a who's who of cult TV and film.
Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch and X-Men's James McAvoy are joined by Game of Thrones and former Fades star Natalie Dormer, Doctor Who alumnus Sophie Okonedo and Homeland's David Harewood for the tale of London Below, an alternate reality beneath the capital where famous landmarks take on a life of their own.
Screen legends Christopher Lee and Bernard Cribbins also star in an adaptation that is being described as an "audio film".
The six-part series begins with an hour-long episode at 6pm on Saturday 16 March on Radio 4 and continues with five 30-minute instalments stripped across the week on Radio 4 Extra from Monday 18 March.
More photos and news to follow in the coming weeks...

Source (including photo): Radio Times