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William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Review of The Renaissance Theatre's Production

By Jean Brandau, About.com

"It's about magic, " says Assistant Director Sandi Robertson, the Renaissance Theatre's inside Shakespeare specialist. The Renaissance Theatre has pulled out all the stops in their production of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

Even non-Shakespeare scholars will enjoy this version of Shakespeare's shortest, and last, play. Sandi Robertson has done some creative cutting and pasting to make this Shakespearean work a fast-paced presentation that clocks in under two hours--no small feat for one of The Bard of Avon's plays.

So exactly what's "The Tempest" all about? Here it is in a nutshell: Prospero, the deposed (an act caused by his brother, Antonio) Duke of Milan has been marooned on a remote island with his baby daughter Miranda. As twelve years pass, using his keen knowledge of magic, he has liberated the island from the rule of the witch Sycorax and has made a servant of her half beast son, Caliban. Prospero has also enslaved the spirit Ariel, a fairy on the island.

Part 2:More Tempest
Part 3: Final Tempest

More Photos of The Tempest
Part 1:
Shakespeare's Final Play

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Jean Brandau
Guide since 1999

Jean Brandau
Huntsville, AL Guide

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