A Stormy Summer Shakespeare

Edgy Director And International Star Make for a Stormy Summer Shakespeare

AUSA Outdoor Summer Shakespeare presents
The Tempest
Directed by Benjamin Henson
Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by award-winning Auckland director Benjamin Henson, and starring internationally acclaimed actress Lisa Harrow as Prospero, AUSA Outdoor Summer Shakespeare present an exhilarating take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Pop-up Globe Theatre from 3-13 March 2016. Shakespeare buffs Henson and Harrow will be working alongside a large cast of some of Auckland’s hottest performers and creative crew to produce a modern and innovative Summer Shakespeare for all.

Shakespeare's last solo work for the stage sees the magician Prospero bring his enemies to his enchanted island, where love and magic intertwine in search of lasting reconciliation. Henson will once again intrigue audiences with an industrial flotsam and jetsam set design, contemporary soundtrack and gender neutral casting – highlighting the story and the energy each actor brings to their role. With a cast of 24, mixing established and emerging actors, this show is sure to be bursting with fervour, wild with style.

Auckland born Lisa Harrow is a former Royal Shakespeare Company Member, having being invited to join in 1969 after studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Major career highlights include winning the Australian Film Institute’s Award forBest Actress in a Leading Role for The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992), starring alongside Judi Dench in stage play Twelfth Night and Sam Neil in the film The Omen III and being appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015. She was invited to direct the 50th anniversary Summer Shakespeare production of King Lear in 2013 and will take to the stage once more in 2016 as Prospero the magician and exiled ruler of Milan.

Performed by a full cast and live musicians, this production marks a new departure in AUSA Outdoor Summer Shakespeare's 50+ year history. The Summer Shakespeare will leave its regular location under the clock tower at the University of Auckland to join thePop-up Globe for the 2016 season – providing a sensational opportunity for actors and audiences to experience a version of Shakespeare’s home theatre.

Pop-up Globe Auckland is a full-scale working temporary replica of the second Globe Theatre, originally built by Shakespeare and his company in 1614. The result of ground breaking international academic research and using a steel frame ‘skinned’ in plywood, the Pop-up Globe fuses cutting-edge scaffold technology with 400-year-old designs and superb contemporary performances to create an immersive 360 degree experience unlike any other.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on …”

The Tempest plays:
Pop-up Globe Theatre: Bard's Yard, 38 Greys Avenue, Auckland CBD
Thu 3 Mar ’16, 8:00pm – 10:30pm
Sat 5 Mar ’16, 8:00pm – 10:30pm
Wed 9 Mar ’16, 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Fri 11 Mar ’16, 8:00pm – 10:30pm
Sun 13 Mar ’16, 1:00pm – 3:30pm

ends

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