Ross Brown
Above: Principal Ana Gallardo Lobaina and soloist Branden Reiners in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Macbeth.
The Scottish play is now a ballet, as the Royal New Zealand Ballet presents a world première next month: Alice Topp’s Macbeth.
The promotions have been appearing since late 2025, and come February 25, the company will open its 2026 season with the new ballet.
Topp, born in Bendigo and having danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in the 2000s, is one of ballet’s acclaimed creators, with the award-winning Aurum one of her best known works.
She has reimagined the Shakespeare play as a ballet in a contemporary setting, in a ‘ruthless modern world shaped by political ambition, media manipulation and the fatal seduction of power’ according to the RNZB. It is a co-production with West Australian Ballet and forms part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington and Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, before touring to Christchurch and Dunedin.
‘Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, exploring themes as current today as they were when first written,’ said Topp. ‘An epic story fuelled by political ambition, passion, desire for power and the burden of guilt, its potency endures. Our Macbeth is set in a hierarchy-hungry, high-society city, where political storms, media frenzy and personal ambition collide.’
Topp’s version sees Macbeth and his wife as a power couple fêted by the public who, as in the play, find their worlds unravelling through paranoia and violence. She says that she found a rhythm in Shakespeare’s words, with ‘movement written into the language.
‘The story is a psychological drama, full of behaviours, emotions and atmosphere. All the movement is right there in his words, and my role is to find where those emotions land in the body and let them speak physically,’ added Topp.
Jon Buswell returns to create and light the set, while the award-winning production designer Aleisa Jelbart has created the costumes. There is an original score by Christopher Gordon, performed by a live string ensemble from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Hamish McKeich conducts, and Ruth Little is the ballet’s dramaturge.
RNZB artistic director Ty King-Wall says audiences should be prepared to be surprised. ‘Macbeth is the Royal New Zealand Ballet as you’ve never seen us before. Alice is bringing a world of bloodshed, betrayal and intrigue to our stages, in a cutting-edge production which draws upon the versatility of our dancers, the skill of our technical team, and demonstrates our incredible artistic range as a company.’
The ballet is presented in partnership with Avis. Wellington dates are February 25 to 28 at the St James, then Auckland for March 4–7 at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre at Aotea Centre, followed by Dunedin at the Regent from March 13 to 14, and Christchurch at the Isaac Theatre Royal from March 18 to 21. Tickets are now on sale.
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