ONE of the rising stars of the stage, Iain Glen, will play Macbeth in

Glasgow and Dundee next year -- in a co-production between the Tron

Theatre, Mayfest, and Dundee Rep.

Glen won ecstatic praise for his Hamlet at Bristol Old Vic last year,

recently appeared with Kenneth Branagh in Coriolanus at Chichester, and

will play Edmund in a forthcoming Lear at the Royal Court, London. He

played Larry Winters in the film Silent Scream. The only other casting

so far announced is Fiona Bell as Lady Macduff.

Macbeth will be directed by Michael Boyd, artistic director at the

Tron. He said yesterday that the three-way partnership enabled the

formation of a strong cast and ensured adequate rehearsal time -- but

that there was still a need to seek sponsorship to cover a shortfall in

the budget.

Design will be by Tom Piper and music by Craig Armstrong, who has

worked on previous Tron productions. ''We are looking for three battered

cellos'', Boyd said. He also announced a quest to find three under-tens

to play the doomed Macduff children who will, in what sounds like a

chilling theatrical coup, rise from the dead to become the witches.

Production details are still fluid, but Boyle speculated on the

possibility of a modern dress Macbeth, prompted by the recent political

upheavals in eastern Europe.

Macbeth will open at the Tron on April 29, and after its Mayfest

season will transfer to Dundee on May 19.

JOHN FOWLER