Simon Russell Beale is to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company for the first time in 20 years to play Prospero in The Tempest, a production which “aims to break new boundaries in theatre-making”.
RSC associate artist Russell Beale last performed with the RSC as Ariel in Sam Mendes’s production of The Tempest in 1996.
The RSC’s artistic director Gregory Doran who directs The Tempest said, “inspired by the spectacular masques of Shakespeare’s day, we’ve set ourselves the challenge of creating the most technologically advanced production we’ve ever staged in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, working with Intel and The Imaginarium Studios.
“We’ll blend ancient theatre skills with innovative digital technology to conjure up Prospero’s island, inhabited by fantastical characters, in Shakespeare’s most magical late play.”
The RSC has been developing The Tempest for the past two years. Mark Quartley who plays Ariel will wear a “motion capture suit” which allows the movements of his “avatar” Ariel to be projected on and around the stage as he morphs into different versions of the spirit.
Quartley played Claudio in the RSC’s 2011 production of Measure for Measure. He also took the role of Osvald Alving in Ibsen’s Ghosts at the Rose Theatre, Kingston in 2013.
He is joined by another RSC associate artist, Joe Dixon, who returns to the company to play Caliban.
The cast also includes Alison Arnopp (spirit), Laura Cairns (spirit), Elly Condron (Iris), Daniel Easton (Ferdinand), Caleb Frederick (spirit), Samantha Hay (soprano including onstage goddess) Sarah Kameela Impey (spirit), Tony Jayawardena (Stephano), Matthew McPherson (Francisco), Joseph Mydell (Gonzalo), Oscar Pearce (Antonio), Jenny Rainsford (Miranda), Darren Raymond (boatswain), Joe Shire (master of the ship), Oliver Towse (Adrian), Simon Trinder (Trinculo), James Tucker (Alonso), Tom Turner (Sebastian) and Jennifer Witton (soprano including onstage goddess).
The production is designed by RSC director of design Stephen Brimson Lewis, with video by Finn Ross and lighting by Simon Spencer. Music is composed by Paul Englishby with sound by Jeremy Dunn and Andrew Franks and movement by Lucy Cullingford.
The Tempest runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford from Tuesday 8 November 2016 until Saturday 21 January 2017.