The Tempest

ETG 2000/01 Tour

"An island paradise, spiritual, mystical and musical, has also become a dumping ground for the unwanted and rejected. Along with mountains of cultural debris from across the centuries, Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda, have been washed up on this shore, compelled to adjust to an isolated existence in a land where time has frozen...
Discontented and downtrodden, the old man broods on his injustice. Then, an idea comes to him putting the idyll of the island at risk, he summons a terrifying tempest to set in motion his plans for revenge and eventual reconciliation. The conspirators are drawn to the enchanted island, not knowing that their wrongdoing will be exposed and that Prospero will be restored."

The European Theatre Group is the premier touring drama company within the University of Cambridge. It has a reputation for producing innovative and forward thinking drama. Our enchanting and energetic new production this year, conjures up a world of melodies, mystery, comedy and colour, that brings Shakespeare's last magical masterpiece to life to audiences in England and across the continent alike.
This year, we hope to make the main focus of our tour a return to various venues (ranging from professional theatres to school auditoria) across Switzerland, as well as a whole host of other European countries, including Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, Germany and Belgium. We then return to Cambridge in January 2001 to perform for a week in the ADC Theatre.

The Director (Matt Applewhite) writes:

"The Tempest is, without doubt, Shakespeare's most magical play. It is a well-known and much-loved play, but no one interpretation of it stands out as 'The Definitive Edition'. Instead, the play has been re-interpreted time and time again to the delight of countless audiences.
"Common to all productions, however is the play's irrepressible ability to saturate the spectators' senses. Not only does it tell a wonderful story packed full with intrigue and mystery, humour and poignancy and deal with a number of weighty issues, such as colonisation, nature versus nurture and authority, but it does so with such beauty and spectacle.
"This is a spiritual and magical play, which tells the monumental story of a journey that begins with greed, power, treachery, rage and revenge, and ultimately transforms into reconciliation, restoration, salvation, love and grace. Magic, science, nature, art and grace all interweave in this most visual of Shakespeare's plays and Prospero's remote island becomes a testing ground for a reflective debate upon the influence of nature and nurture.
"I believe a good production of The Tempest should be irreverent, inventive, wildly funny, and, on occasion, passionate and moving. Its themes are infinite (as one comes to expect from Shakespeare), but the play works wonderfully well as nothing more than a gripping story and a visual spectacle with which to enthral the audience."