The Tempest

The world is a stage – into the future with Shakespeare’s final play.

A desert island somewhere in the middle of nowhere: this is where Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, lands with his daughter Miranda after being deposed by his brother and cast adrift at sea in a boat. Other island inhabitants: the air spirit Ariel and Caliban, who has always lived here and is now subjugated by Prospero. No one ever really passes through here – at least not voluntarily. So a helping hand is provided: twelve years later, Prospero has Ariel unleash a storm to cause a ship carrying his brother and the King of Naples to be shipwrecked on the island. The weather goes haywire, the balance of power shifts – now the score is settled.

Johan Simons’ latest production at the Schauspielhaus Bochum is dedicated to what is believed to be Shakespeare’s final play: The Tempest. And he is not alone. We have invited two exciting contemporary artists to fill the gaps in the play with their imaginations. Why is there actually only one female role? What about Caliban’s mother? Who owns the island? And who owns the future?

The American artist Leila Hekmat, whose work lies at the intersection of ritual and visual art, between a costume extravaganza, music and burlesque, finally gives space to the repressed female part of the story. And Lamin Leroy Gibba, who shot to fame as the writer and lead actor of the ARD series Schwarze Früchte, has penned a new text for the finale that offers a postcolonial perspective and leaves the old island far behind.