Manawatū Summer Shakespeare And Simple Truth Theatre Present: The Tempest

The Tempest
Directed by Rhian Firmin and Rachel Lenart
20 Feb- 1 March 2025
Victoria Esplanade Rose Garden

Manawatū Summer Shakespeare are set to open their 22nd annual production in February with an evocative, elemental and spell binding deep dive into the Bard’s last solo play, The Tempest.

This is Shakespeare at the height of his power. It’s a magnificent tale of magic and sorcery, villainous plots, chaotic shenanigans, revenge, redemption and romance.

The cast of 24 local performers, who range in age from 16-77, began rehearsals in early November under the vision of Rhian Firmin, returning to the director’s chair for the third consecutive year, in a Victorian Gothic meets Ocean Mythic interpretation.

Twelve weeks into rehearsal, award winning performer Hannah Pratt was forced to withdraw from the principal role of Prospera (a gender swapped Prospero), following a broken ankle, requiring strict rest and recovery. Determined to keep the ship on course, Firmin stepped into the role herself, with creative producer Rachel Lenart taking the reins as director.

“Rhian and I continue to work as co-artistic directors but we'll also give her the space to do the work of the actor, and fully invest in the role and the internal worlds of the play. My job is to finish what Rhian has started and fulfil her creative vision. The show is in a really strong place” said Lenart.

Firmin is a trained actor, studying first at Massey and cutting her teeth in Manawatū Summer Shakespeare. After extensive further study within performing arts, she worked as a professional actor in Auckland as she built her theatre company and eventually shifted focus into directing and producing for Simple Truth Theatre.

Lenart meanwhile, trained in Wellington and has been directing for over 20 years. Along with her extensive output of theatre productions in her roles at Massey and Victoria University, her work has played at major professional theatres across NZ including Palmerston North’s Centrepoint Theatre. Firmin and Lenart, both award winning theatre makers and single mums, have been collaborating on Manawatū Summer Shakespeare since 2020 and took on the joint leadership as Artistic Directors of the scheme in 2023.

Along with the gender switch of Prospera, this production re-genders the power dynamics across the play. The Tempest, as written, features only one explicitly Female character, 15 year old Miranda, played in this production by Awatapū student Honey Sinclair.

Dramaturg Dr Hannah August and Firmin considered what a redistribution of power might look like. Among the changes, King Alonso becomes Queen Alonsa and the ambitious brother to the monarch becomes a sister. “The redemption we see in Prospera - with the aid of other women - allows her to rise up to reclaim and take back her power on her own terms, in her own way” said Firmin.

Promising an atmospheric, visual and sensory explosive production, from the award winning creative team behind 2023’s record breaking Romeo and Juliet and 2024’s colourful chaotic caper Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest holds “an intense magnifying glass on the fragility of human emotions. It’s enchantingly magical, and heartbreakingly real” -Rhian Firmin

As always, this production will be open to the public for koha entry - pay what you can if you can - to encourage creative engagement across the community and remove barriers of access to the arts.

THE TEMPEST
20 Feb- 1 MARCH 2025
No show mon/ tues
7pm except Sun 23 at 4.30pm
Victoria Esplanade Rose Garden
KOHA ENTRY
No Bookings required- first come, best seated

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