The play opened with the simulation of a shipwreck . King Alonso of Naples ( Daniel Fielding ), his son Ferdinand ( Paul Nassar ), his brother Sebastian ( Maxime Dufour ), along with courtiers Antonio ( Lawrence Lingard ), Gonzalo ( Ava Bennett ) and Adrian ( Tom Nassar ), butler Stephano ( Edward Brown ) and jester Trinculo ( Alessandro Berlusconi Valaguzza ) created a dramatic and realistically violent depiction of the crew being thrown about the ship . Ominous lighting and tumultuous background noise from the lighting and sound team magnified the effect , while the work of our creative props and costume department evoked a psychedelic festival-themed vision , with the comic characters sporting kaleidoscopic ensembles and the courtiers hitting a more sombre note in leather jackets .
The initial chaos is watched by the lord of the island , reimagined as Prospera , lady of the island ( Tanya Gupta ), who maintained an omnipotent aura throughout . She and her daughter Miranda ( Ruby Thomas ) had been villainously supplanted by Antonio as Duke of Milan years previously . The stage was then set for a saga in which Prospera , aided by her loyal spirit Ariel , played by Safina Baker in impish fashion , plots revenge against the castaways . However , not everyone is trustworthy : Caliban ( Grace Yu ) a native islander enslaved by Prospera , seeks revenge on her by plotting to make Stephano lord of the island . Comic moments were provided by Caliban , the hapless Trinculo and the drunken Stephano , notably when Trinculo and Caliban hide beneath a blanket from a storm and petrify the inebriated Stephano when he happens upon them .
Justice and love prevail at the end : Ferdinand and Miranda ’ s sensitively played scenes develop an initial connection between the pair , blossoming to conclude with their betrothal . The festival vibe continued throughout the latter part of the play , with a spectacular sea of ribbons falling from the rafters , providing a colourful backdrop to the scenes where love and justice are resolved . The duplicitous Caliban , Stephano and Trinculo are ultimately rebuked for their plotting , but Prospera abandons her plan for revenge and , forgiving the courtiers for her previous banishment , accepts the return of her position as Duchess of Milan .
This was an impressive production which combined different year groups across the Middle and Upper Schools . Many thanks go to Mrs Wessels for her patient and inspirational direction , the backstage crew , production , sound , lighting , AV , props and set teams for their creative and professional interpretations of the drama .
Edward Brown , Year 11
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