The Citadel Theatre Presents Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST

Revenge, love, and magic take centre stage in a dramatic re-imagining of William Shakespeare's final play, The Tempest, beginning this month at the Citadel Theatre. The production, featuring the 2019 participants of the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program, is directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, former director of Tyst Teater, Sweden's National Deaf Theatre.

This production of The Tempest is written to incorporate the creativity of both Deaf and hearing actors, directors, spoken English and American Sign Language, and bi-cultural consultants, says Bushell-Mingo. The acting ensemble features both Deaf and hearing artists. "This is not the first time Deaf and hearing [artists] have worked together in theatre. Many Deaf organizations and activists have been working for years to establish the rights of Deaf artists and sign language, to great success," says Bushell-Mingo. "But this is the first time that a theatre of national reputation in Canada like the Citadel has produced a production like this, and the first time for many hearing artists to work with sign language artists."

Lorne Cardinal (TV's Corner Gas) stars as Prospero, a deposed ruler marooned on an island with his daughter, Miranda (played by Thurga Kanagasekarampillai). Prospero uses his magic to seek vengeance on those who robbed him of his throne but Bushell-Mingo takes her interpretation of the character in a more proactive direction than the original text. "I need a Prospero who's actually fighting for his existence and fighting for revenge, not just assuming that things are going to happen," says Bushell-Mingo. "So I've approached The Tempest in a visual, physical, sensory way and I tapped into 'What if Prospero's magic is out of control?'"

The majority of the cast spent four weeks at the Banff Centre, from mid-February to mid-March. This year's program was led by Ravi Jain, Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre, and Darwin Lyons, Associate Program Director of Why Not Theatre. The program is an intensive physical theatre experience designed to encourage actors to go beyond English and ASL, and explore and communicate with the language of the body. Master teachers from around the world came to the Banff Centre to teach various subjects, including Suzuki, Viewpoints, Choreography, Mask, chorus work, voice, and text. The all-star faculty includes Alex Bulmer, Josette Bushell-Mingo, Ravi Jain, Ellen Lauren, Darwin Lyons, Alison Matthews, and Santee Smith.

The Tempest runs April 20 to May 12, 2019. Tickets are available at www.citadeltheatre.com and 780.425.1820. Tickets start at just $30 plus fees and GST.

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