Bell Shakespeare’s The Tempest
John Bell directs his last play for the company he founded almost 25 years ago, and aptly it is The Tempest, debatably Shakespeare’s last play. It’s a moment to mark in Australian theatre and its significance is not lost on rising star Eloise Winestock, who plays Miranda in this Bell Shakespeare production.
“I do feel like I’m a part of a little slice of history because John Bell is Australian Theatre. It is a real honour to be working with him in his last show – I feel very lucky,” said Winestock.
Set in a deserted magical island of empty abstract space, designer Julie Lynch has created an ephemeral floating disc for the performance to take place on. With colourful costumes set just beyond the level of reality, the staging evokes the sense of a dream where tales are yet to be written.
Yet it is the character of Miranda that so captures Winestock: “I find Miranda fascinating – intimidating – because she is so removed from society. Being shipwrecked on an island when she was not even three years old, it was really challenging to think – ‘what would that girl be?’ She is quite different from any other Shakespearean Ingénue. She is completely guileless. I’ve been trying to find that wildness.”
If experiencing Shakespeare is to unlock a magic box of possibilities, then endless possibilities abound in this production, as the old master meets a modern day Australian genius for the last time.
August 21 – September 18 (Tues-Wed 6:30pm, Thursday – Saturday, 7:30pm, various other show times.) Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $35-79. Tickets & info: sydneyoperahouse.com or 92507777.
