As rehearsals continue for Macbeth, we caught up with designer Edwina Bridgeman to talk about returning to Tobacco Factory Theatres and shaping the visual world of the production.
What was it about this particular production of Macbeth that drew you to the project?
I’ve always loved Macbeth. Until now I didn’t know it as well as some other plays, but it spoke to me on lots of different levels — particularly the tragedy of it, and the questions it asks about what makes us do the things we do, who we listen to, and who we choose not to listen to. That all feels very pertinent.
I was also really interested in working with Heidi [Vaughan] again, particularly because of the way she directs with the ensemble at the heart of the process. I was curious to see how that approach would shape this play.
And having worked in-the-round spaces like the Factory before, I could immediately see how Macbeth might live in this room. It felt like a space where the play could really work.
From a designer’s perspective, what makes Tobacco Factory Theatres such a special space to work in?
The intimacy of it. The audience is very, very close to the action, and that makes it completely credible that they become part of the story. There’s nowhere to hide — which I think is incredibly powerful for a play like Macbeth.
Some people might say, “Oh, it’s in the round, there are pillars, it dictates so much,” but I actually find that really exciting. When the situation is the situation, that’s what you have to work with. It becomes about problem-solving — finding ways to make the space work for you rather than against you.
And on a personal level, the Factory means a lot to me. My granny worked there when it was still a working factory, so it’s a place I’ve known about all my life. That history makes it feel special — it carries memory and meaning.
What were your core inspirations for the design of this production?
We didn’t want the play to feel like it was set in a specific, literal Scotland, but rather somewhere recognisable and universal. I started thinking about moors — vast expanses of land that exist between cities in many countries. They might look different everywhere: deserts, ice fields, plains. But they share a sense of being unyielding and eternal.
That contrast really struck me — the idea that landscapes endure in a way that people don’t. My work tends to start from feelings rather than concrete objects, so the question became: how do we create a sense of that enduring, indifferent landscape on stage?
That led me to the idea of peat stacks as a recurring motif. But they’re intentionally ambiguous — they could also be wasps’ nests, tree forms, crows’ nests. It’s important to me that the audience has space to bring their own interpretations, rather than everything being fixed or literal.
Does that inspiration carry through into the costume design as well?
In a way, yes — but costume needed to do something slightly different. The landscape has an enduring quality; people don’t. We come and go, and the costumes are much more caught up in that transience.
The costumes were partly inspired by street fashion at Paris Fashion Week last year — particularly the sense of pomp and finery. That contrast felt important. The people in the play are ornate, expressive, and temporary, set against a landscape that is vast, impassive, and permanent.
It’s about the tension between those two things — the environment and the people trying to impose themselves upon it.
Without giving too much away, what can audiences expect from this production and its design?
I think audiences can expect to feel uncertain — in a good way. It’s an uncanny world, far from obvious, and unlike anything else.
I hope people are surprised.
You can see Edwina’s designs in Macbeth at Tobacco Factory Theatres from 19th Feb – 28th March 2026.
Venue: Factory Theatre, Tobacco Factory Theatres
Tickets: From £15
Box Office: 0117 902 0344
Age recommendation: 12+
For full details on BSL-interpreted, captioned and relaxed performances, visit the Macbeth page on our website.
Posted on 29 January 2026
