On Saturday 23 April 2016, in celebration of William Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, the Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg-Grund hosted an adaptation of the classic play The Tempest.
The play was performed as Shakespeare originally wrote it with the music he intended to go with it and on instruments that were correct for the era. Serge Ayala, director and actor, was joined by the Shakespearian actors Eliot Giuralarocca and Rachel Winters along with the early music ensembles Le Tendre Amour and Quatricinia for this original production.
An inspiring adaptation in which the cast of seven actors also performed the musical instruments, some of which evoked emotions and sounds of a ship in a storm.
Originally scripted as a 5-act play, The Tempest tells the story of Alonso (the King of Naples), his brother Sebastian and son Ferdinand who fear that they may not survive a storm at sea.
Prospero and his daughter Miranda are exiled on an island, where she asks Prospero to stop the storm which he conjured up. Ariel, a spirit, tells Prospero that all aboard have survived the shipwreck. Prospero disapproves when Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love. From there, the tale involves images and illusions, love and betrayal and, ultimately, forgiveness.
An imaginative and thought-provoking production.
Beforehand, the new British Ambassador to Luxembourg, John Marshall, addressed the audience and encouraged those who plan to visit Britain and who like Shakespears, to combine both.
