Voodoo Macbeth

Based on the true story of Orson Welles, Rose McClendon, and their revolutionary Shakespeare production.

“The ambitious scale of the project is impressive, as is how it so skilfully depicts an important moment in history..”
-Richard Kline, Shadows on the Wall

“The idea behind this film’s production is almost as daring as Orson Welles' original 1935 "Voodoo Macbeth" adaptation!”
- Diane Carson, AWFJ Women on Film

SYNOPSIS: IIn 1936 Harlem, the first all-Black cast production of Macbeth struggles to make it to opening night amid political pressure and clashes between leading actress Rose McClendon and its gifted and untested 20-year-old director Orson Welles.

Before CITIZEN KANE and THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, leading Broadway actress Rose McClendon and producer John Houseman convince a gifted but untested 20-year-old Orson Welles to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem. Reimagined in a Haitian setting, this revolutionary 1936 production, which came to be known as “Voodoo Macbeth,” would change the world forever, but the road to opening night proves to be a difficult one. Orson and Rose – who is to play Lady Macbeth – clash over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contends with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deems “communist propaganda.” Welles and McClendon must overcome political pressure, personal demons, and protests to realize their groundbreaking vision..