'Macbeth' Duo Ralph Fiennes & Indira Varma to Reteam for Family Drama 'The Beacon'

If you’re struggling to get tickets to Simon Godwin’s buzzy new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, well, just know that you’re not alone. The critically acclaimed production, which stars Ralph Fiennes (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones) as the show’s titular murderous couple, played to packed houses in London and just kicked off a sold-out run at D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre, where your only hope to see it is to get lucky in the weekly $20 ticket lottery.

But if you’re more interested in seeing Fiennes and Varma work together than in this particular bit of the Bard, well, you’ll get another chance to do that in relatively short order. The duo is set to star in the feature film The Beacon, a contemporary drama that will be both written and directed by Fiennes himself. 

Described as a meditation on family, class, race, and identity, The  Beacon marks Fiennes’ first original film screenplay. Set in his native county of Suffolk, it follows the story of a young man who grew up in London after having fled the Ugandan civil war as a child, whose decision to spend the summer with his privileged girlfriend’s family exposes deep fault lines in their community. It will be the fourth movie he’s directed, joining The White Crow, The Invisible Woman, and Coriolanus.

“I wanted to tell a story about things happening today between people. It’s not about contemporary issues so much,” Fiennes told Deadline. Contemporary issues are floating around, but what interests me more is the inner lives of any individual. Where does that become manifest in their life? How much can they own who they are, say who they are, confront who they are?”

Here's the film's synopsis. 

Joshua Nyaga travels to the countryside from London to spend a summer’s weekend with his girlfriend Cass’ family for the first time. Transplanted as a young boy from the violence of the Ugandan civil war to the concrete jungle of London, Joshua has never experienced the privilege that Cass’ family enjoys.  

Surrounded by the sea and lush natural landscape, the farm is an oasis, brimming with idealistic notions and lively debate amongst Cass’ father, stepmother and their longtime friend of the family, Michael. But Joshua’s warm welcome is short lived, when a sudden act of violent racism at a local summer concert shatters the peace forcing Joshua and those around him to confront the uncomfortable truth of their differences.

Alongside Fiennes and Varma, the film will also star Charles Babalola (The Outlaws) and Saltburn breakout Alison Oliver.

A Potboiler Productions film, The Beacon also reunites Fiennes with producer Gail Egan, with whom he worked on the Oscar-winning movie The Constant Gardner. 

The film is slated to go into production this summer in Suffolk, after Fiennes and Varma finish their run in Macbeth. It certainly sounds like the kind of movie that's built to be released during awards season, butThe Beacon doesn't have a broader filming schedule or distributor announced yet, so we'll have to wait and see.