Shakespeare's 1610 shipwreck tale The Tempest details the trials and tribulations of survivors of an all-powerful storm that sinks a ship - and what better place to set the scene than the south-west's spectacular Loch Ard Gorge? Celebrating 25 years of producing Shakespeare in the great outdoors, OzAct returns to the gorge this January for their annual summer production of Shakespeare's play of magic, mystery and mayhem. Artistic director Bruce Widdop said there was a synergy between the play and the beach where Eva Carmichael and Tom Pearce washed ashore after the 1878 Loch Ard shipwreck. "It's the most magical environment for the production of Shakespeare's Tempest because of the synchronicity between the location and the play where a ship is shipwrecked off the coast, after which the survivors reach an alien shore on an island that's unfamiliar," he said. "This performance is special because the first Shakespeare production of this company was The Tempest in 1996 25 years ago, it's what started the company. "The environment is like an additional character or an overplay on the play. It's real and tangible, not like a set on stage. "Audiences not only see the actors but they experience the environment too." The Tempest is set in a dual world of reality and the supernatural. Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, and his airy spirit Ariel feature in this story of revenge,romance, reconciliation and redemption. Caliban, a native victim of Prospero's sorcery, plots his freedom as two offspring of rival rulers, Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love in the unique and rugged setting where Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael the two sole survivors of the shipwrecked 'Loch Ard' struggled ashore in 1878 to become a part of Australia's history. "The spray may be rearing fifty feet high at the opening of the gorge, or the sun may be setting on a sea as tranquil as a mill-pond, but the scene at Loch Ard Gorge is always changing and always dramatic," Mr Widdop said. Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
