23rd - 26th July 2008

"The Tempest"

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Julia Coleman
and Ian Pring

Jason Marchant
Eamonn O'Reilly
Melissa Williams
Catherine Fox-Kirk
Peter Nower
Jake Flint
Emma Stallard
Stephen Childs
Paul Checkley
Giles Checkley
Richard Frampton
Becca Stafford
Clare Pepperell
Niki Bencic
Sian Ashworth
Sharron Stubbs

Shakespeare's final masterpiece is set on a remote island, where Prospero, a magician and former Duke of Milan, is marooned along with his daughter Miranda.  Overthrown by his brother twelve years ago, and put out to sea in a small boat, Prospero instead landed on the island.  Now, his brother and fellow conspirators are sailing by on their way home from Africa.  With the help of the ethereal spirit Ariel, Prospero summons up a terrible storm, bringing his enemies on to the island and into his power.  But faced with the opportunity for revenge, what will Prospero do?

Meanwhile, Caliban, the original inhabitant of the island, plots with two drunken castaways to murder Prospero and take back control of his home…

Mixing tragedy, comedy, intrigue, magic and music, Shakespeare's last play is a summing-up of his life's work, but also a stunningly original take on his obsessive themes: betrayal and revenge, nature and nurture, appearance and reality, parental relationships and the responsibilities that come with power