This Saturday, 31 January, Palma’s Teatre Principal opens its doors at 6pm to a darkly seductive theatrical event where Shakespeare meets cabaret. A Macbeth Song with The Tiger Lillies lands for one night only, transforming the classic tragedy into a fierce, musical ritual of ambition, blood and bitter irony. Blending live performance by the legendary London trio The Tiger Lillies with the striking theatrical language of La Perla 29, the show promises an intense, unforgettable journey into the shadows of power and desire.
Performed in English with Catalan subtitles, this unique theatre-concert invites audiences to experience Macbeth as they never have before—sung, distorted, haunting and wickedly alive. Tickets are €12, making this a rare chance to witness an internationally acclaimed cabaret-theatre production at an accessible price, right in the heart of Palma.
About the production
La Perla 29 and the London trio The Tiger Lillies join forces to tell the tragic story of Macbeth. The result is a striking artistic creation that takes audiences on an extraordinary journey each night, guided by The Tiger Lillies’ new live songs and three performers from La Perla 29.
A Macbeth like none we have ever seen before. Like none we have ever heard before.
A Macbeth Song is performed in English, with Catalan surtitles. Alongside the live music of The Tiger Lillies, the show features three Catalan actors—Màrcia Cisteró, Enric Cambray and Andrew Tarbet (from New York)—who lead us through this ironic and deeply theatrical version of Macbeth. It is almost as if the iconic characters of the tragedy (Macbeth himself, Lady Macbeth, the murdered King Duncan, the loyal Banquo, the Three Witches…) were reflected in concave mirrors that magnify the darkest and most puerile aspects of the human soul and of power. Like a children’s tale that echoes and echoes—blood upon blood, night upon night—with the reverberation of so many deaths Shakespeare left written on the page.
The Tiger Lillies, masters of the most avant-garde cabaret, bring their unmistakable stamp to this immortal tragedy. Martyn Jacques, the band’s leader, has composed 22 brand-new songs especially for A Macbeth Song. Performed live each night, they are steeped in dark lyricism and biting irony that will haunt Macbeth in every note, every prophecy, every lie.
The songs are the heart of the production and were the starting point for the creation of the text: a free adaptation by Oriol Broggi that tells Macbeth as a grotesque, torn fairy tale, as one great song—A Macbeth Song.
Blind ambition and the irony of fate resound in the chords, the breaths and the bloodstained, satirical laughter of the three witches… the three Tiger Lillies… Ah, power: a throne of doubtful stability, a tainted spring from which promises and damnation flow, a crown resting on fevered, solitary heads, a gleaming dagger that kills too many innocents yet melts into the red-hot iron of conscience when one dares to look at it.
Synopsis
Three witches sing to Macbeth: a power too great for a human being. The Tiger Lillies and La Perla 29 journey to the heart of this story in a concert-performance that fuses the live music of the London trio with the aesthetic of the Catalan company. Guided by accordions, pianos, brand-new songs, moving ballads and three outstanding actors, this singular company creates a new way of telling this powerful story—one that speaks of power and war, of guilt, of bloodstained hands, of death, of spells, of night, of fog, and of the indelible memory of crimes committed through unbridled ambition.
Poor, deluded Macbeth, who killed the king to place the crown upon his head. Three witches promise him power, and he enters the fatal labyrinth of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s serpentine tongue and the paranoia of the throne drive him to commit the most atrocious crimes, and the cogs of war and fear turn on, unstoppable. Ah, poor tyrant, gazing each evening into his guilty conscience in the darkest of nights. What a puerile man, the despot, who kills and kills yet cannot love. What ray of dawn could part these blood-soaked clouds? Where has freedom gone? The three Tiger Lillies sing to Macbeth: a power too great for a human being.
Artistic / Creative Team
A Macbeth Song with The Tiger Lillies, based on William Shakespeare, is a bold and singular theatrical creation that brings together La Perla 29 and the iconic London trio The Tiger Lillies. Directed and freely adapted by Oriol Broggi, the production reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy through music, cabaret and a deeply theatrical language.
On stage, three performers from La Perla 29—Enric Cambray, Màrcia Cisteró and Andrew Tarbet—share the space with the three members of The Tiger Lillies: Martyn Jacques, Adrian Stout and Budi Butenop. Together, they guide the audience through a dark, ironic and unsettling journey into the heart of Macbeth, where ambition, guilt and violence unfold as if in a grotesque fairy tale.
The musical spine of the production lies in 22 original songs composed by Martyn Jacques, performed live each night. These songs, rich in dark lyricism and biting irony, are not mere accompaniment but the driving force of the narrative, shaping the rhythm, tone and emotional landscape of the piece.
The creative team surrounding the production brings together a strong visual and technical identity. Damien Bazin is responsible for sound design, while Francesc Isern creates the video elements that accompany the performance. Lighting design by Pep Barcons and costume design by Berta Riera contribute to an atmosphere that is at once stark, poetic and unsettling.
The direction is supported by Montse Vellvehí, who also collaborates on the text alongside Albert Reverendo and Andrew Tarbet. Subtitles, translated by Gerard Cisneros, allow the English-language performance to resonate with Catalan-speaking audiences.
Behind the scenes, Marc Serra leads stage management, with Pau Segura and Maria Vaillo as the technical crew for performances. Front-of-house care is provided by Eva Cartañà and Núria Ubiergo, while surtitles are operated by Nagui Yamashita López. Costume making is handled by Època Barcelona, with Annabel Barrufet as seamstress.
The visual identity of the production is completed by Andrea Gusi and Albert Cano (poster design), David Ruano (photography) and David Andreu (promotional video). The team extends special thanks to Violeta Broggi.
A Macbeth Song with The Tiger Lillies is a production by La Perla 29, offering a haunting and unforgettable encounter with Shakespeare’s tragedy—where music, blood and ambition sing together into the night.