The Tempest        

Time: 25-28 March 2010, 7:30pm   27-28 March 2010, 2:30pm
Venue: Lyric Theatre, HK Academy for Performing Arts
Price: Adult - $780, $640, $520, $400, $280   Student - $320, $260, $200, $140

About This Programme

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on,
and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep..."
The Tempest, Act Four Scene 1

Oscar-winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) directs a formidable transatlantic company of actors in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. The stellar cast features Michelle Beck, Christian Camargo, Stephen Dillane, Ron Cephas Jones, Juliet Rylance and Thomas Sadoski in this magical tale of shipwrecks and sorcery, and loves lost and found.

The enchanting tragicomedy The Tempest is William Shakespeare's last play. Prospero, in his eagerness to acquire knowledge and harness magic, loses his dukedom to his brother; in an attempt to reassert supremacy years later, he loses his only daughter to the son of a rival king.

Some of the finest talents of New York and London theatre converge at Hong Kong Arts Festival for the second season of an extraordinary venture – The Bridge Project – an unprecedented three-year partnership uniting The Old Vic, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Neal Street Productions.

Sam Mendes
British stage and film director Sam Mendes was founder and Artistic Director of London theatre powerhouse Donmar Warehouse for a decade, and has directed theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, plus in the West End and on Broadway. His film directorial credits include Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road and Away We Go.

Special Remarks
Performed in English with Chinese surtitles

Cast And Director
Cast        Ashlie Atkinson
               Jenni Barber
               Michelle Beck
               Edward Bennett
               Christian Camargo
               Stephen Dillane
               Alvin Epstein
               Jonathan Lincoln Fried
               Richard Hansell
               Ron Cephas Jones
               Aaron Krohn
               Anthony O'Donnell
               Juliet Rylance
               Thomas Sadoski
               Michael Thomas
               Ross Waiton

Director                  Sam Mendes
Set Design              Tom Piper
Costumes                Catherine Zuber
Lighting                   Paul Pyant
Sound                     Simon Baker for Autograph
Music                      Mark Bennett
Choreography         Josh Prince
Music Direction        Stephen Bentley-Klein
Musicians                Stephen Bentley-Klein
                              Shane Shanahan
Hair and Wigs          Tom Watson
Casting                   Maggie Lunn and Nancy Piccione

Performances

Michelle Beck
Michelle Beck’s credits include Viola in Twelfth Night and Ophelia in Hamlet. She also appeared in The Malcontent, Cyrano de Bergerac, Tartuffe and The Changeling. Her film credits include Spinning Into Butter and Thunderbolt.

Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo recently played Hamlet in New York to enthusiastic reviews, especially from The New York Times, and starred in All My Sons on Broadway. He also played a key part in hit TV series Dexter.

Stephen Dillane
One of the finest actors of his generation, Tony- and BAFTA-winner Stephen Dillane created numerous leading roles by important playwrights such as Caryl Churchill and Tom Stoppard. His screen credits include The Hours, Savage Grace, and acclaimed TV series John Adams, which he received an Emmy nomination.

Ron Cephas Jones
Ron Cephas Jones won the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatre after appearing in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. He also received numerous awards in the US and UK for Stephen Adly Guirgis’s Jesus Hopped the “A” Train with New York’s LAByrinth Theatre, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Juliet Rylance
Juliet Rylance has played many of Shakespeare’s leading ladies in London and New York, including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Desdemona in Othello, Perdita in The Winter’s Tale and Cressida in Troilus and Cressida.

Thomas Sadoski
Thomas Sadoski’s performance in Neil LaBute’s critically acclaimed Broadway play reasons to be pretty was well received. He was recognised with Best Actor nominations from the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards. He was also nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Becky Shaw.

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