About
Critically-acclaimed VOLTA THEATRE COMPANY returns to Smock Alley with a new production of Shakespeare’s gripping tale of murder, totalitarianism and how a person loses their soul. In a battle-ravaged land where power is concentrated in the hands of warlords known as Thanes, society is held together by unwavering loyalty…
Critically-acclaimed VOLTA THEATRE COMPANY returns to Smock Alley with a new production of Shakespeare’s gripping tale of murder, totalitarianism and how a person loses their soul.
In a battle-ravaged land where power is concentrated in the hands of warlords known as Thanes, society is held together by unwavering loyalty to the king. But outside the heavily fortified strongholds of the Thanes, strange rituals and satanic cults chip away at the status quo.
War-hero Macbeth, cousin to the king, is seduced by this witchcraft. He and his wife, shattered by the recent loss of a child, seek to fill the void with power. They hatch a plan to murder the king, unleashing a cycle of violence that destroys everything they prize: security, friendship, peace of mind, their love for each other and ultimately their souls.
Shakespeare’s timeless story about the horrors that lie in wait beyond societal breakdown has non-stop action, suspense, terror, and some of the mightiest language ever penned.
Warnings: Violence
WRITTEN BY William Shakespeare
DIRECTED BY Norah McGettigan
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Colin Doran
SOUND DESIGN BY Denis Clohessy
VIDEO DIRECTOR David Crann
VIDEO EDITOR Elton Mullaly
DRAMATURG Bridget Hourican
FIGHT INSTRUCTOR Ciaran O’Grady
CAST Myles Feerick, Liam Hourican, Sinead Murphy, Gillian Roberts, Jim Roche
ABOUT THE COMPANY
VOLTA is a new company with a mission to bring high quality productions of classical works to a wide audience. It was founded in 2023 by Liam Hourican and Jim Roche, long-time collaborators in sketch comedy for Channel 4, RTE and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and has a residency at the National Opera House, where it has staged sold-out runs of Hamlet (2024) and Macbeth (2025). It’s critically acclaimed adaptations of Dubliners (The James Joyce Centre, Bewleys Café Theatre), Telemachus at the Martello Tower and Cyclops at the Lexicon Studio will be returning for the Bloomsday Festival 2026.
Liam Hourican is a sketch comedian and Shakespearean actor/director. He was part of Shakespeare’s Globe company under Mark Rylance, appearing in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra (1999), then Troilus and Cressida with the Oxford Stage Company (2000). In Ireland, he played Oliver in As You Like It and Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Classic Stage Ireland), before joining Alan Stanford’s Second Age for three seasons, playing Rodrigo in Othello, Graziano in Merchant of Venice and Edmund in King Lear. As an impressionist and comedian, he has appeared in numerous Sketch shows and sitcoms, including Very Important People for Channel 4, the Savage Eye (RTE), Glitchy (ITV 2), Sketchy (BBC Northern Ireland), The IT Crowd (Channel 4), Women on the Verge (RTE/Channel 4), Bridget and Eamon (RTE 2), Timewasters (ITV) and Tracey Breaks the News (BBC One). He is best known for playing Gordon Ramsay over the three series of Murder in Successville, the cult BBC Three hit, now on Netflix and Solti in Kevin Allen’s La Cha Cha, available on Amazon Prime. He will be appearing in the new Lisa McGee (Derry Girls) comedy drama How To Get to Heaven from Belfast on Netflix in February.
Jim Roche is an actor and director based in Dublin. He recently directed and featured in ‘A Face in The Crowd’, a mental health awareness testimony theatre piece which toured throughout Ireland. His recent work in Television includes Normal People (directed by Lenny Abramson (BBC), Harry Wild (Acorn TV) Blood 2 (Virgin Media) Vikings(History Channel), Damo and Ivor,Fair City, Killinaskully, The Mario Rosenstock Show, Dead Still (RTE), The Tudors (Showtime) and iCandy (Channel 4). Theatre credits include ‘Basil Hallward’ in Wonderland Production’s play ‘THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY’,Oscar Wilde in ‘Motion of the Heart’ (Ensemble Ex – Irish National Tour). Numerous roles in ‘I, Keano’ (Irish National Tour) ‘John Joe’ in “THE ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORK” (Edinburgh Fringe and tour), ‘Dempsey’ in “THE JUDGES HOUSE” (Purple Heart), ‘Algernon’ in “THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST” (Irish Tour) and ‘Arthur Glumm’ in “ANIMUS” (Dublin Fringe). Film credits include ‘The Last Duel’ directed by Ridley Scott, ‘Lassie’ (Universal Pictures), Dark Lies The Island (Irish Film Board) and ‘When Harvey met Bob’ (BBC). He also plays the lead in the award winning music video ‘Paul’ for the Irish indie rock group GirlBand.
