MIDSUMMER is here, and with it comes a traditional fixture of the season, as Southend Shakespeare Company swaps the indoor comforts of the Palace Theatre for parks, gardens and village greens.
This year outdoor production, The Tempest, kicks off tomorrow at High Easter green, before shifting to Southchurch Park on Sunday. Other green outdoor sites follow during the month, including the Library Gardens, on Leigh clifftops, and a National Trust property, the medieval castle mound in Rayleigh.
Written near the end of Shakespeare’s career, and unique in his repertoire, the Tempest is a story of wonder, enchantment, reconciliation and hope for the future.
Its setting, a tropical island ruled over by the wizard Prospero, makes it, in the words of director Danniella Goodger, “a perfect choice for outdoor performance”.
Prospero’s fellow inhabitants on the island of wonder, “full of sweet airs that give delight and hurt not”, are his beautiful daughter Miranda, the oafish monster Caliban, whom Prospero treats as a slave, and the wild, graceful spirit Ariel, tamed to do Prospero’s bidding.
Romantic and other-worldly, the Tempest is brought back to earth by some earthy low comedy and farce.
It marks the directorial debut of Goodger, after many appearances with the company in an acting role.
The former dancer and drama teacher turned registered nurse also shares the widely-held view of the Tempest as an oblique comment on the birth of the British Empire.
The production and costumes have been designed with more than a hint of Victoriana and the steam era, but sets and furnishings have been kept to a minimum.
“We use trees, grass and bushes instead,” Danniella says.
Crew and cast, led by Andrew Sugden as Prospero, are hoping some of Prospero’s magic will waft its way into the Southend weather system, delivering balmy conditions for the production. Danniella says: “If we do get a bit of drizzle, I suppose it will go quite well with The Tempest.”
The Tempest. High Easter Green, Tomorrow, 7.30pm.
Southchurch Hall Park, Southend, Sunday, 3pm.
Leigh Library Gardens, Friday July 1, 7.45pm.
Rayleigh Mount Sunday, July 3, 3pm.
£6-£7) 01702 473172 Bring seating, plus suitable clothing, umbrellas etc
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