The Tempest

‘We are such stuff
As dreams are made on and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.’

Prospero, sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan, has lived on an island with his daughter Miranda ever since his position was usurped by his brother Antonio. Then, one day, as Antonio’s ship passes near the island, Prospero conjures up a terrible storm. . . One of Shakespeare’s most lyrical plays, the Tempest embodies both seemingly timeless romance and the historically specific moment in which Europe begins to explore and conquer the New World. Its complexity of thought, its range of characters—from the spirit Ariel and the monster Caliban to the beautiful Miranda and her prince Ferdinand—its poetic beauty and its examination of difficult questions that still haunt us today make this play wonderfully compelling.