Written by John Agard
Directed by Jeremy Stockwell
"Billy, you've hit it on the head. The possession
of an island begins in the domain of the tongue.
Doth not language and empire like plants intertwine?
Together they flower, together they decline."
Calibania is an entertaining and thought-provoking spin on The Tempest – true to the spirit of magic in Shakespeare's original yet bringing a modern focus to still relevant questions of language, power and difference.
In this witty revisiting, the setting is a TV studio where a retired Lord Prospero is the featured guest on a live TV show that loosely resembles This Is Your Life, hosted by a debonair devil’s advocate presenter, one Billy Bard.Guests make surprise entrances, including Lord Prospero’s backpacking daughter, Miranda; a white flannelled cricket-loving Ferdinand; not to mention Caliban himself, now President Caliban, the ruler of the renamed island, from where he sends greetings by satellite link-up.
Under Billy Bard’s mischievous probing, guests share their memories of Lord Prospero and reveal what really went on behind the scenes back in the magical isle.
With live music devised by Paul Johnson and Peter Faulkner.
The work is in development with a view to a future run of performances.
President Caliban (Peter Faulkner). Photo © Oscar Hewitt, 2011
Cast for work-in-progress performances
Tristan Bates Theatre, London
1 December 2011
Cast
Lord Prospero - Roger Lloyd Pack
Billy Bard - Crispin Bonham-Carter
President Caliban - Peter Faulkner
Miranda - Ayesha Dharker
Ariel - Nathasha Stokes
Gonzalo - Roddy Maude-Roxby
Ferdinand - Freddie Hutchins
Stephano - Jeremy Stockwell
Trinculo / The Queen / commercial interludes - Leann O’Kasi
Musical interventions
by Paul Johnson & Peter Faulkner
___________________________
Crosspath fundraising event featuring an abridged version of Calibania
Trevor House, Lewes
24 March 2013
Cast
Lord Prospero - Marc Matthews
Billy Bard - Jonathan Cullen
President Caliban - Peter Faulkner
Miranda / The Queen - Leann O’Kasi
Ariel - Sophia Carr-Gomm
Gonzalo - Don Faulkner
Stephano - Irene Marot
Trinculo - Pam Hewitt
Ferdinand was absent from this abridged version of the play
Musical interventions
Paul Johnson
Dramaturgical support - Mark C. Hewitt
