Walkabout/Moon Fool to Present STORM at Links Hall, 6/18-28

Chicago's Walkabout Theater Company, joins forces with international theater and music exchange organization Moon Fool, to present the Chicago premiere of STORM, a fierce re-imagining of William Shakespeare's The Tempest created and directed by Anna-Helena McLean, with new writing by Rosanna Lowe and featuring actors from three continents. STORM will play June 18 - 28, 2015 at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.linkshall.org. The press opening is Thursday, June 18 at 7 pm.

Charged with lightning and magic, a cast of international and Chicago performers weave together original live music, voice, body and text to capture the wild battle between humanity and nature, uniting the signature physicality and polyphony of Walkabout Theater Company and Moon Fool in a dynamic examination of power, illusion and the mystery of control. STORM invites audiences to take refuge in a world of fantasy, spectacle and haunting beauty, balancing the ageless work of Shakespeare with a modern confrontation of the devastating relationship between our planet and ourselves. "Tornadoes, tsunamis, winds waves, and rains. All must be contained." In a remote island bunker sheltered from the chaos of the outside world, exiled geo­engineer Prospero furiously works to control the elements and pave the way for a new world of calm and sustainable prosperity. Poised on the brink of her own coming­of­age, his daughter Miranda uncovers an earthshaking truth: the Storm lives within us all.

Members of the Moon Fool ensemble from the United Kingdom and India team-up with Walkabout Theater and a select chorus of Chicago performers in this new model of international collaboration. STORM will feature Moon Fool lead actor Anirudh Nair (Ariel) alongside Walkabout Co­Artistic Director Thom Pasculli (Prospero) with Walkabout ensemble members Dana Murphy (Miranda) and McCambridge Dowd­-Whipple (Caliban). The chorus will include Moon Fool lead actor George Bellamy and Anna­-Helena McLean with Walkabout ensemble members Nigel Brown, Cooper Forsman, Katie Mazzini and Paul Scudder. Additional casting to be announced.

STORM was created with support from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs In the Works Residency, Links Hall, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation International Connections Fund. The International Connections Fund will be supporting the second phase of this international partnership when the Walkabout ensemble will travel to the United Kingdom to continue working with Moon Fool in 2016.

The STORM production team includes: Michael Christman (scenic design), Rachel Levy (lighting design), Andrew Rovner (sound and projection design), Emma Stanton (dramaturg) Kendra Miller (producer), Brianna Parry (production manager), Dina Klahn (stage manager) and Lee Stark (assistant director).