Macbeth's curse strikes again: Kerikeri play postponed to February 2023

Isa Hackett and John Oszajca were to have starred in the Kerikeri Theatre Company production of Macbeth last month. Photo / Supplied

The curse of Macbeth has struck again with Kerikeri Theatre Company forced to postpone the famous Shakespeare play until next summer.

The company was to have staged Macbeth at Kainui Vineyard, north of Kerikeri, in February but had to postpone it when the cast was struck down by Covid-19.

It was the first significant outbreak of the Omicron variant in Northland and was thought to have been contracted at the SoundSplash music festival in Hamilton by an actor's family member.

Co-producer John Oszajca, who also plays the title role, initially hoped the show could proceed this month.

However, with around 700 new cases a day in Northland, he said it seemed imprudent to go ahead at this time.

''We want to make sure there isn't a dark cloud hanging over the production, and that we aren't putting people in harm's way.''

The king's court in the Kerikeri Theatre Company production of Macbeth. Photo / Supplied

Postponing the show by another month was not an option because there was only a short window of time available for staging the play outdoors.

Oszajca said the show had not been cancelled but had been pushed back until next February, with the same cast and venue.

By then he hoped most Covid restrictions would be lifted.

''It's unfortunate but it's in the best interest of the cast and the public,'' he said.

Refunds were available to anyone who wanted them but he hoped people would ''stick it out'' and keep their tickets until next February.

Tickets for the first Friday of the postponed 2022 season, for example, would automatically be valid for the first Friday of next year's production.

Oszajca said more than 20 members of the cast, crew and family members had caught Omicron with two — one adult and one 11-year-old — sick enough to need hospital treatment.

All had now recovered but some still suffered from fatigue at times.

Rehearsals were halted and everyone isolated as soon as the first actor tested positive, which had limited the spread of the cluster.

Actors have long believed Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's darkest and best-known plays, is cursed.

Some even refuse to refer to it by name, instead calling it ''the Scottish play''.