“When shall we three meet again?” The answer is: when corona lets us. Earlier this month, Daniel Craig brought preview performances of a new Broadway production of Macbeth to a halt after testing positive for coronavirus. The James Bond star has now returned to the theatre, but the show continues to be challenged by Covid-forced absences.
Thursday evening saw yet another actor testing positive, and with all the show’s understudies already filling in for other roles, the director was forced to come up with a novel solution: take to the stage himself.
The New York Times reports that Sam Gold took on two small roles on the night. This is just the latest challenge for the production which only got through three performances following its April 1 debut before the first actor tested positive for coronavirus, and it had to cancel that day’s performance. When Craig tested positive three days later, the play had to close for a further 11 days.
The production, starring Ruth Negga alongside Craig, is scheduled to open on April 28, making it eligible for this year’s Tony Awards. Gold previously won a Tony in 2015 as the director of the musical Fun Home.
Macbeth isn’t the only production to be beset by coronavirus. Sarah Jessica Parker is still away from the stage of Plaza Suite, a new musical A Strange Loop had to delay its first preview performance on Thursday, and another musical Paradise Square hopes to resume this coming Tuesday.