This Last Tempest

Created by
Uninvited Guests

Dates
18 Jul 2014 - 24 Mar 2016
Artist/Company
Uninvited Guests

Funded by Arts Council England. Commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre and Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. Developed at The Other Place at the RSC, and with support from Tobacco Factory Theatres.

This Last Tempest was a visual spectacle that immersed you in atmospheric sound. Part theatre, part gig, this radical take on The Tempest begins where Shakespeare left off, and was for both those who knew Shakespeare well and audiences new to the play.

Caliban and Ariel are left alone on the enchanted island, as Prospero’s ship sails over the horizon and out of view. In the hours that follow, the magician’s former servants, the “savage” and the “airy spirit” are free to tell their unheard versions of the story. They use the magic of the words their master taught them to conjure-up their own brave new world, where spirits and monsters are people and inanimate things are alive. They perform a tempest and, as the wild waves roar around them, they begin again together.

Working with composer and musician Neil Johnson, Uninvited Guests filled this strange yet familiar island with guitar noise, evocative sounds, and sweet airs.

#ThisLastTempest

"Wonderful evocative staging; a good imagining of the human condition and thought-provoking ending."

Audience Member

"Amazing creation for all the senses. Stunning effects. Exciting and moving. Atmospheric."

Audience Member

ABB73C5B-A51C-4932-BDF3-C60C9D79146A Created with sketchtool.

Project History