Tempest Project - Les Bouffes du Nord (Paris)

Peter Brook was one of the most influential theatre makers of the last 50 years, a visionary. His concern was to "clear out" the "heavily loaded" theatre space and to create more space for movement and associations. Brook focused on working with the actors and their very specific interests, personal skills and knowledge. Intercultural theatre work and work across languages were particularly important to him – a pioneering approach that has not lost its relevance over the years.

In July 2022, Peter Brook passed away in Paris at the age of 97. Three months before his death, his last joint work with co-director Marie-Hélène Estienne celebrated its premiere in Paris: "Tempest Project". So "The Tempest", Shakespeare's last play, also became the last journey of Brook and his fantastic actors.

The play itself is as famous as it is enigmatic. The titular force of nature is right at the beginning of the plot: The storm is the work of Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, who was banished to a desert island by his scheming brother years ago. Since then, he has lived here with his daughter Miranda. Prospero makes the island his own and subdues the native Caliban and the air spirit Ariel, with whose help he perfects his magic skills - without morals, driven solely by the idea of revenge.

When his brother and his entourage arrive near the island by ship, Prospero has the moment of reckoning. He orders Ariel to leave the castaways stranded on the island and promises him the long-awaited reward: "Let them be properly hunted down. Now is the hour when all my enemies are at my mercy. In a short time all my efforts will be accomplished, and you shall breathe the air of freedom."

In Brook/Estienne's work, the idea of freedom and freeing oneself from seemingly unchangeable conditions and attributions runs through the entire play. But what does "being free" actually mean? On the island, one might think, Prospero has become free because there are gradually no limits to his magical powers. But in the frenzy of power, the feeling of revenge threatens to devour him. Prospero is still not master of his own nature, of his own storm. Only Miranda's love for the shipwrecked Ferdinand, son of the enemy, makes the official reconciliation possible, of which Prospero is not capable. Prospero realizes that he cannot find his personal freedom alone; he renounces sorcery and releases the oppressed, Caliban and Ariel. Prospero faces his personal storm.

Language: French
Surtitle: German
From 14 years.