What's On

This late, great play explores freedom and restraint, revenge and forgiveness, and the possibility of renewal and fresh beginnings despite the heavy burdens of the past. This most musical of Shakespeare’s plays is haunted by “sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not”. It has spirits, goddesses, imprisoned virgins, banished Dukes and monsters, not all of whom are easily recognisable as such from the outside. Is it an investigation into the evils of colonialism or into the seductive vanity of art, with Ariel as the ultimate in Shakespearean shapeshifters? Is Prospero in control of all around him or at the mercy of his own emotions?

Film extracts and Royal Shakespeare Company production slides will help our enjoyment and understanding of the play in performance. Participants are asked to have read the play in advance and to bring a copy of the play with them.

The day will run from 10am to 3.45pm, with breaks for refreshments and an hour’s lunch break.

Tutor: Rebecca Brown.
Before moving to Scotland, Rebecca worked for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, in Stratford upon Avon, where she organized and taught courses on Shakespeare and the literature of his time.

Information published by Leisure and Culture Dundee.