Titchfield Festival Theatre (TFT) is set to again captivate audiences with a bold and compelling new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, featuring an all-female cast. The play in Titchfield’s Great Barn promises to be a fresh, intense, and deeply resonant interpretation of the classic tragedy and will be performed in this historic 15th century venue for the fourth time. In 2014, the play similarly featured an all-female cast. This year’s Macbeth is on stage 24 June – 3 July 2025.

Macbeth invites you to immerse yourself in a world where power and ambition collide, where the choices made have far-reaching consequences, and where the boundaries between right and wrong blur. Brace yourself for an unforgettable journey that will leave you questioning the very nature of ambition and its cost.

Daniel Vaughan works as TFT’s Wardrobe Coordinator and directs Macbeth. He was talking to Simon Frost:

Simon: Which TFT plays have you directed before? Have you directed in The Great Barn previously?

Daniel: I’ve had the pleasure of directing two recent TFT productions: This Is Living in 2023 and Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons in 2024. Earlier this year, I also co-directed Little Women, which was a wonderful experience in collaboration and storytelling. However, Macbeth is an entirely different beast - darker, more intense, and full of complexities - and I’m absolutely loving the creative challenge it presents.

Although this is my first time directing in The Great Barn, I’ve performed in it many times over the years. It’s an extraordinary venue - raw, atmospheric, and unlike any other space. It has a kind of historic gravity that adds so much depth and texture to the storytelling. I’m thrilled to finally be able to bring a directorial vision to life in that space.

Simon: What inspired the decision for an all-female cast?

Daniel: TFT is bursting with incredibly talented women, and yet, during the Shakespeare season, so many of those voices are underrepresented due to the male-dominated nature of the texts. I wanted to challenge that. By assembling an all-female cast, I’ve been able to spotlight some of the strongest performers we have and offer a fresh lens on one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays. It’s not about making a gimmick - it’s about giving space to new interpretations, voices, and dynamics that can reframe what the audience thinks they know about Macbeth.

Simon: How does this reimagining of an all-female cast highlight themes of power and ambition?

Daniel: I often think of Macbeth as a high-stakes chess match - every character is calculating, strategising, making power plays. In an all-female cast, those dynamics become especially compelling. The power struggle between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth takes on a new tone: the lines between dominance, vulnerability, manipulation, and desire blur in fascinating ways. Audiences are invited to reconsider their assumptions about power - what it looks like, who holds it, and how it’s wielded. There’s a fresh intensity when those roles are played by women, especially in a world where those displays of ambition can feel both transgressive and deeply resonant.

Simon: What do you think will be the biggest challenge in staging this production?

Daniel: The sheer scale of the cast! My previous directorial projects have been much more intimate - two-handers that allowed me to really dig into the nuances of character. With Macbeth, I’m working with a phenomenal ensemble of 17 actors. It’s been a thrilling shift, but also a logistical and creative challenge. Balancing that many voices, movements, and energies while keeping the storytelling sharp and emotionally driven requires a whole new level of orchestration. It’s pushed me in the best possible way.

Simon: What do you hope audiences will take away from this version of Macbeth?

Daniel: I hope they walk away feeling reinvigorated by a play they may think they already know. I want them to see it through fresh eyes - to feel the urgency, the emotional weight, the ambition, and the tragedy in a way that surprises them. But more than that, I hope they leave with a deeper appreciation for the immense talent we have at TFT. This cast is remarkable, and this production is a celebration of their skill, dedication, and boldness.

Simon: Are there specific aspects of the play you’ve focused on with this interpretation?

Daniel: This interpretation is rooted in the human connections - what drives each character, what fractures them, and how they influence one another. It’s less about the grandeur of battle and more about the psychological warfare. We’ve really honed in on the emotional undercurrents: loyalty, guilt, grief, ambition, and love. By understanding those relationships in more depth, the tragedy of the play becomes all the more poignant and relatable.

Macbeth performs in the Great Barn, Titchfield between 24 June and 3 July 2025. For more information including booking tickets please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/ or contact our Box Office on 0333 666 3366.