Beginning March 1, 2017, the Royal Shakespeare Company's acclaimed production of Shakespeare's The Tempest will play in select movie houses across North America.
The production, which opened to rave reviews at the RSC's home in Stratford-upon-Avon, was filmed for "Live from Stratford-upon-Avon," the RSC program that screens the world's greatest classical theatre company from Shakespeare's home town around the world through a continued partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment.
This production of Shakespeare's late play, in collaboration with Intel and in association with Andy Serkis's Imaginarium Studios has been in development since September 2015, and aims to break new boundaries in theatre-making with the very first live motion capture performance appearing in a major classical stage production.
Following screenings in the UK on January 11, the production has been seen by more than 60,000 people in over 500 cinemas across the UK, generating more than £830,000 (over $1million) in box office receipts to date and on March 30 over 500 schools around the UK will see it in their classrooms.
From June 30 - August 18, 2017, The Tempest will play at the Barbican Theatre in London.
For more information and tickets, visit www.rsc.org.uk/the-tempest/in-cinemas.
On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems.
In a unique partnership with Intel, today's most advanced technology is used in a bold reimagining of Shakespeare's magical play, creating an unforgettable theatrical experience.
Simon Russell Beale returns to the RSC after 20 years to play Prospero in a production directed by RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran.
The full cast of The Tempest includes: Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, Mark Quartley as Ariel, Joe Dixon as Caliban, 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), Jennifer Witton (Soprano including onstage Goddess).
The production is designed by RSC Director of Design Stephen Brimson Lewis, with Digital Character Creation by The Imaginarium Studios, 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.
Watch the trailer for The Tempest below!
For cinema listings and booking, go to onscreen.rsc.org.uk to sign up for updates and follow the creation of the production online in the run up to the screening.
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today's writers.
Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare's home town.
We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.
Picturehouse Entertainment is the distribution arm of Picturehouse Cinemas, the owner and operator of 23 Picturehouse Cinemas and programming agent for a further 42 venues across the UK.
Since its launch in 2010, Picturehouse Entertainment has worked with renowned British directors such as Shane Meadows and Ben Wheatley, and has distributed an eclectic range of theatrical releases, including BAFTA winner The Imposter; 20,000 Days On Earth, featuring Nick Cave; Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story Of Dream Alliance; and The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. 2016 saw the release of Green Room with Patrick Stewart; Marguerite; The Absent One; the latest comedy by Todd Solondz, Wiener-Dog, starring Greta Gerwig and Danny DeVito; Swiss Army Man with Daniel Radcliffe; Jim Hosking's award-winning debut comedy The Greasy Strangler; and Anne Fontaine's The Innocents. March 2017 will see the release of Paul Verhoeven's Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winner, Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert.
Picturehouse Entertainment also distributes high-profile alternative content to cinemas throughout the world from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bolshoi Ballet, Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre, and also distributed the shows Monty Python Live (mostly), The Rocky Horror Show Live and Roger Waters The Wall. The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company's live season has enjoyed success with The Winter's Tale, Romeo And Juliet and The Entertainer. Picturehouse Entertainment collaborated once again with Nick Cave on the international event One More Time With Feeling, a new film directed by Andrew Dominik, and recently worked with the BBC and publishers Faber & Faber and Profile Books on a one-night-only special event, Alan Bennett's Diaries Live.
2017 will also see Picturehouse Entertainment partner with CinEvents for a one-night-only special event, Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, which will screen around the UK and Europe and feature a new interview with the drummer from Bowie's band. Picturehouse Entertainment are also bringing to cinemas worldwide Rammstein: Paris, a state-of-the-art concert film directed by Jonas Åkerlund that captures the emotion and thrill of Rammstein live.
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