Stewart's 'Macbeth' Hailed As Exceptional

Patrick Stewart (Picard) is earning rave reviews in Macbeth, a role of which he said, "I've waited 40 odd years to do this part and I think every night is full of discoveries."

Channel 4 had a brief interview with the actor, who admitted that he missed his first chance to perform in the Scottish Play, as it is known to superstitious actors, when he was 15 years old.

"I lost out to somebody else," explained Stewart, who is currently playing Macbeth at the Gielgud Theatre in London.

In a round-up of reviews, The Guardian noted that Stewart had received near-universal acclaim. "The Telegraph's Charles Spencer welcomed its arrival in 'a West End in desperate need of the red meat of strong drama,'" the article read, adding, "Spencer's heady review screamed 'The best Macbeth I have seen.'"

The Evening Standard, too, was impressed, calling Stewart the "Macbeth of a lifetime" and stating that the play "maintains its mesmerising power on the Gielgud's larger, conventional, proscenium space."

South Coast Today had another review round-up, stating, "British critics hailed a powerful new production of 'Macbeth' starring Patrick Stewart, praising its visual bravado and emotional intensity" and calling Stewart "a soldierly, commanding Macbeth."

Stewart and fellow veteran thespian Ian McKellen, Stewart's X-Men co-star, have inspired a huge demand for tickets. The latter appears in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of King Lear.

What's On Stage reported that the Lear production is already sold out and "Stewart's 'Macbeth of a lifetime' is causing a box-office rush at the Gielgud Theatre."

Stewart appears as Macbeth through December 1st.

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