Gloucestershire’ s acclaimed Festival Players will be whipping up a storm in Wales next month when they celebrate their 25th anniversary with three performances of an all-male production of Shakespeare’s final great poetic comedy, The Tempest.
The troupe will kick off with a performance in the atmospheric surroundings of Caerleon Roman amphitheatre near Newport, Gwent (Friday, July 9) as part of the Caerleon Arts Festival before heading to South Pembrokeshire to the grounds of Lampeter House at Lampeter Velfry (Thursday, July 15) and then the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centre at Libanus (Friday, July 16).
The trio of performances will be followed in August by shows at Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire (17th); Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum (18th and 19th) and Aberglasney Gardens in Carmarthenshire (20th) and finally The Wheatsheaf Inn, Llanhennock, near Newport on September 4.
The Festival Players have proven themselves to be one of the finest and most enduring touring Shakespeare groups in the UK and this summer will perform some 65 alfresco shows starting in May and extending for the first time into September.
The shows will be played out at an increasingly varied number of locations from Scottish castles to English village greens, famous Welsh gardens to London squares.
At the helm will be the innovative and inspired director Michael Dyer, former director of Cornwall’s Minack Open Air Theatre who will also take the role of the exiled Duke, Prospero.
Worcestershire-based Michael teaches Shakespeare performance at Trinity University College, Carmarthen and has recently staged an acclaimed all-female version of The Taming of the Shrew with his student cast.
Known for his crystal clear Shakespeare productions he says: “The Tempest seemed like a notably epic drama for our silver anniversary year. It combines treachery, conspiracy and sorcery in a colourful and fascinating tale to make it one of Shakespeare’s great comedies. It has so many themes – not just love, tragedy and comedy but freedom, friendship, repentance and forgiveness. All life is there – and we aim to make it a high energy production for all the family.”
In the play the exiled Duke Prospero conjures a tempestuous storm to lure his enemies to a strange and mysterious island, drawing them through a web of enchantment and illusion as his powers reach their height. A treacherous brother, fellow conspirators and old friends alike all fall under his spell.
Says Michael: “Just six male actors will take on all twelve roles, some of whom will be familiar to regular Players audiences.” Dyer himself takes on the magical mantle of Prospero – a role that Sir John Gielgud played in Peter Greenaway’s 1991 cinematic adaptation Prospero’s Books. Peter Scott (above), a recent graduate of Trinity University College, Carmarthen tackles the challenging roles of both the sprite Ariel and Prospero’s loyal daughter Miranda while Players’ stalwart Martin Tomms returns after an absence of two years to play drunken butler Stephano and the old, honest lord Gonzalo.
Completing the cast will be Christopher Mark, who appeared in 2008’s Much Ado About Nothing, as lovelorn Ferdinand and jester Trinculo; Lancaster University graduate Lane Paul Stewart as the monstrous servant Caliban and Prospero’s brother Antonio and Giles Stoakley, a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art., as Alonso, King of Naples.
It will be Dyer’s sixth all-male production in a row for the Players. “In 2005 there were some raised eyebrows when we performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream without actresses. Since then we have had all-male productions of Hamlet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice and now audience feedback has proved that most people see it as an intriguing diversion from the norm. And of course it is totally authentic – we are following in the footsteps of Shakespeare’s own Globe Theatre when all roles were taken by men.”
Scenery and costumes for the production were undertaken by the Design and Production department of Trinity University College, Carmarthen, part of the University of Wales (Beth Tearle (set design) and Vanessa Bolton (costumes) while music was specially written for the production by folk star Johnny Coppin (front man of the cult Seventies folk-rock group Decameron).
Stroud-based Coppin (left), who regularly tours the folk and acoustic circuit both solo and with fellow singer songwriter Mike Silver, adds a special ingredient with his original songs and instrumentals involving all the cast. The tunes will be played out on flute, concertina, guitar and percussion with special songs for the characters of Ariel, Stephano and Caliban.
Some of the performances will be as part of festivals – most notably the famous Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester and the Worcester Festival – and many of the shows will raise funds for local, national and international charities from Help for Heroes to St John Ambulance, Independent Age and The Willow Trust.
Tour Dates:
Friday, July 9: Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre nr Newport 7.30pm
Thurs July 15: Lampeter House, Lampeter Velfry, Narberth, 7.30pm
Friday, July 16: Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centre, 7pm
Tuesday August 17, 7pm: Raglan Castle, 7pm
Weds 18/Thurs 19 August: National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, 7.30pm
Friday August 20: Aberglasney Gardens, Carmarthenshire, 7.30pm
Saturday, Sept 4: Wheatsheaf Inn, Llanhennock, nr Newport, 6pm
