resources for
teachers
education pack contents
Introductory material
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Introduction to Krazy Kat and Roundabout
Cast and Creative Team
Plot
Articles
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Adapting and abridging Shakespeare
Caliban – friend or foe?
Activities
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Role play – the Trial of Prospero
Further activities
Visual Aids
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The characters
Meet the Teams – Team Alonso
Meet the Teams – Team Prospero
DVD clips
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Actor and character names and sign names
Interview with the Musical Director, Matt Marks
Interview with Director, Caroline Parker
cast
Kinny Gardner
Darren Cheek
Jim Fish
Tinca Leahy
creative team
Designer Chris de Wilde
Directors Caroline Parker and Kinny Gardner
Puppet Master Russell Dean
Sign Translator John Wilson
Writer Nick Wood
Composer Matt Marks
production team
Stage Manager Ali Murray
Publicity Designer Ruth Hope
Asst Production Manager Debbie Constable
Roundabout Producer Andrew Breakwell
roundabout
Director of Roundabout Andrew Breakwell
Roundabout Administrator Kitty Parker
Education Officer Allie Spencer
Education pack devised by Allie Spencer
DVD Material filmed and edited by Rich Swainson
A Tempest with Roundabout
Kinny Gardner
Artistic Director, Krazy Kat Theatre:
Since its founding on 1 April 1982, Krazy
Kat Theatre Company has created unique
child-centred theatre, at the same time as
maintaining a punishing schedule of
international and national touring;
constantly constructing, developing,
experiencing and learning all over the
world.
As this painted caravan rolls on, the
company have been offered an
extraordinary collaboration with
Nottingham Playhouse Roundabout. The
Brief: to create a new Sign Language
‘Tempest’, with puppets and music, with a
mixed cast of Deaf and Hearing
performers, writers and makers. Wheee!
The very notion of Krazy Kat approaching this timeless story of magic, love, revenge
and forgiveness resonates and soars, allowing for a vivid re-working and reassessment, with the loving attention to detail which characterise this resilient and
popular company. And to make the journey with Nottingham Roundabout as
well…wow! Watch the skies, a storm is approaching… in fact a veritable Tempest…
Andrew Breakwell
Director Roundabout & Education, Nottingham Playhouse:
The performances by Krazy Kat Theatre have been the most successful in the
Saturday Club series that we’ve run here at the Playhouse over the last five years.
Twice a year they’ve played to packed and happy audiences with their unique retelling of well-loved stories. I’m very happy that we’ve been able to work together to
create this new production of A Tempest specifically for primary age children. This
adaptation seeks to deliver a clear and timeless narrative that will be accessible to all.
It will be an introduction to Shakespeare; to an exploration of the themes of
forgiveness, love, reconciliation and freedom; and for some, of course, a first
experience of the joys of theatre. I hope you and the children in your school enjoy the
performances, find useful information here, and are able to follow up your production
with thought-provoking and stimulating classroom work.
The plot
This production is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, written by Nick
Wood. Played by four actors with interchanging roles, all the main plotlines of The
Tempest are retold in a way that is accessible to KS2 pupils.
Prospero and his daughter Miranda live on an island with Prospero’s servant, Ariel (a
spirit) and his slave, Caliban. Prospero also controls many spirits on the island who
have to obey his commands. Before Prospero and Miranda arrived the island was
ruled by Caliban, but Prospero has taken it over and made Caliban his slave.
Miranda is now in her mid teens, and, when a ship is wrecked in a storm conjured up
by Prospero, she wants to know more about the people who are on the ship and why
she and her father are on the island. When she asks too many questions Prospero
sends her to sleep.
Whilst she sleeps Prospero summons his servant Ariel, a spirit whom Prospero has
promised to set free. Ariel demands his freedom and Prospero assures Ariel that it
will be granted soon. When Ariel complains, Prospero threatens that he will trap him
in a tree, as Caliban’s mother had done to him many years before. Prospero then
wakes Miranda and they go to see Caliban. Caliban is supposed to have attacked
Miranda when she was younger, and since then Prospero has continually tortured
and punished him and used him as a slave, despite the fact that the island actually
belongs to Caliban.
Also amongst those shipwrecked are Alonso, the King of Naples; his son,
Ferdinand; and Antonio, the Duke of Milan. Antonio is Prospero’s brother, and was
responsible for overthrowing him, forcing him to leave Milan, and usurping his role
as Duke. Also amongst the shipwrecked are two fools: the ship’s jester, Trinculo, and
his friend, Stephano. They meet up with Caliban and befriend him because Trinculo
believes they can get him back to the mainland and make money out of him.
Stephano gets Caliban drunk and Caliban believes that Stephano is some kind of
god. They plot together to overthrow Prospero, but Ariel overhears them and reports
them to Prospero.
Miranda meets and falls in love with one of the ship’s passengers, a young man
called Ferdinand. Prospero is unhappy with Miranda’s feelings for Ferdinand and
punishes Ferdinand by making him help with Caliban’s chores – carrying wood.
Ariel conjures up an imaginary meal which the shipwrecked characters try to eat.
There is thunder and lightning, and Ariel appears as a harpy. Ariel accuses them of
their part in usurping Prospero.
Ariel brings the King, Antonio and Gonzalo to Prospero in a trance. Prospero makes
himself known and reclaims his dukedom. He reveals Miranda and Ferdinand
together in his cell, playing chess. He announces that they will all leave for Milan the
next morning. He decides to forgive everyone, including Caliban. He then frees Ariel,
and, as the party set sail the following day, Caliban finally has his island to himself
once more.
Adapting and
abridging
Shakespeare
Nick Wood advises how he abridges
Shakespeare and gives tips on how Key Stage
2 pupils can do it with a partner
Nick Wood
Find all the words you like.
Say them out loud.
All the phrases you like.
Say them out loud.
Nick Wood
If it's a long speech underline all the last words of each line.
Say them out loud.
The last words give the flavour of the speech.
Have a look at what comes after these words in the next line and see how each time the
following line explains the last word.
To be or not to be – that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
(etc etc)
At the end of this process you end up – more or less effortlessly – with a good idea of what
the scene is all about.
Go back to the underlined words and phrases, and, using words from the text, link them
together. You can add other bits from the text to make the meaning clearer if that feels
right, and you end up with an abridged version of the scene.
Kinny Gardner and
Caroline Parker
working with Nick’s
script in rehearsal
Caliban:
Friend or foe? Violator or victim?
What are your views on Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest? Views about Caliban
have changed over the years, some productions treating him sensitively and others
treating him as a monster and an outcast. Below are some views of Caliban to start the
thinking process…
Michael Melia (actor)
Throughout the play you see there’s more to Caliban then meets the eye. This is his island.
We don’t know how he was conceived. Is he a monster? He’s just different to everyone else.
Prospero and Miranda arrive on the island and Miranda and Caliban are great friends to
begin with. She taught him language…and made him able to curse! Miranda taught him
everything.
He is kicked out of the family cell and is condemned to a pigsty for what he tried to do to
Miranda.
At the end he begs forgiveness for all he has done. Does Prospero forgive him? We don’t
know. However, at the end of the play he is allowed to go to Prospero’s cell and pack for him.
He is a servant again, not a slave.
Jean Marc Perret (actor)
He is misconstrued – he has feelings but is not always able to express himself. He is in touch
with nature but lacks the ‘qualities’ of a ‘civilised’ man. He is a victim of circumstance. His
anger and aggression is partly due to constant jibes and violent assaults on his nature and
his being.
Emma Rosoman (writer)
On a theoretical level Caliban represents
nature and instinct, and in performance he
is often portrayed as the ‘wild, untamed
monster’. But for me personally, he is a
beacon for everyone that ever got bullied,
or were told what to do, or were asked to
change, or were told that who they are is
wrong. Despite all the bullying and
oppression he receives from the other
characters in The Tempest, Caliban can
end the play proud in the knowledge that
he is probably the only character who
actually travels through the play, reacting
and being proactive based on his real
instincts and history. He grows in his
understanding of his past, his fate, his
sense of belonging to The Island, and the
realisation that to oppress the oppressors
only really hurts himself; and he ultimately
realises his need for peace and grace. And
to me, that makes him incredibly human
and sensitive.
Kinny Gardner (Prospero) and Jim Fish (Caliban)
Kinny Gardner (actor and director)
I sympathise with him.
His lyricism in the texts shows a sweet spirit beneath the wildness.
However, as he is more animal than human, he forgets quickly the good things done to him.
Kicked dogs remember the kick not the stroke.
And although the usurping of this land is a major bad thing, we aren’t told of the other ‘bad’
things he’s done to Prospero and Miranda, apart from the declared attempted rape.
In many ways he’s like a child who bites and screams for ten minutes, then totally wipes it
from his memory.
Nick Wood (playwright)
Caliban lived on the island with Sycorax, his mother, who had been banished there from
Argier. She was banished – not killed – 'for one thing she did'. She died and Caliban was on
his own. When Prospero arrived he treated Caliban with kindness and looked after him, and
Miranda taught him how to speak. Caliban showed Prospero the secrets of the isle. When
Prospero found out about the rape of Miranda he made him a slave and prisoner. Caliban
feels betrayed.
He's not a monster. We all share his qualities and propensities, but we have self knowledge
and the ability to choose how we behave, and we choose to curb our baser instincts. As
Ferdinand was the first attractive member of the opposite sex that Miranda saw, so she was
for Caliban. Miranda's behaviour with Ferdinand is ungoverned, as was Caliban's with her,
and it is his restraint that holds her back.
But Caliban is a part of us and that part can be controlled, not denied. Prospero – in order to
attain the peace he has been searching for – has to abandon his magic and his attempts to
distance himself from the messy business of being human, and step back into the flow of life
and acknowledge the 'thing of darkness' as his own.
Richard Baron (theatre director)
Caliban is not necessarily a monster. He is a native of the island. A victim of the island.
People tend to think of him as a monster but that could say more about them.
Perhaps he’s the only character in the play that attracts our sympathy.
Kinny Gardner
(Prospero), Darren
Cheek (Trinculo) and Jim
Fish (Caliban)
Role Play Exercise
The Trial of Prospero
Imagine a claims company has been in touch with Caliban. Outraged by Prospero’s treatment
of him they have suggested that Caliban take Prospero to court on the grounds of
enslavement. The court (class) has to decide whether Prospero is guilty or innocent of
enslavement and actively supporting the slave trade, as well as breaking the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
This activity has been designed to take place over a week in sections of approximately ten to
fifteen minutes. This is an activity that could take place within the literacy hour, or a separate
activity that encompasses PSE, SEAL and Citizenship.
After the practical court session the children could be given extra time to prepare for the
following day, write notes, compile reports, download photos, complete drawings etc.
A class of 30 pupils could be divided as follows:
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Defence (2)
Prosecution (2)
Prospero (3)
Caliban (3)
Miranda (3)
Ariel (3)
Ferdinand(3)
Antonio (3)
Jury(4)
Reporters (2)
Artist (1)
Photographer (1)
Before you start
1. The children need to be aware of what the slave trade is and how this is relevant to The
Tempest.
2. The children need to have an understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human rights.
3. The children need to be familiar with the story of The Tempest and the central characters.
4. The children need to understand how a court of law works and their role within the
exercise.
The websites below should help you:
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/tempest/tempest_summary.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/...tempest/revise1.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery
www.stopthetraffik.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtroom
Change the children’s places in the classroom so they are sitting as they would in a court
room: jury on one side, lawyers in the front, a witness stand and magistrate’s chair facing
the rest of the class. The viewing gallery could be the back row of tables which the viewers
are allowed to sit on so they are slightly higher.
Witnesses are played by a group of three children. One child stands in front of the other two
and that child is the “voice”. The other two have to prompt the first child through whispering.
The first child can only say what has been whispered to him/her and the other two cannot
speak aloud at all – everything they want to say has to be whispered to the first child. The
first child can then decide whether to repeat the whispering or not. The three children can
also confer before they decide what the first child is going to say. Although this lengthens
the exercise and leaves a few gaps whilst children are conferring it empowers the first child,
who could be a quieter member of the class and also gives the children the opportunity to
think about what they want to say before they say it.
Each child should have a role card, identifying their part in this role play.
Here is an example of how to divide the role play in to five days. You may wish to have the
summing up and jury’s decision on a separate day, or maybe in the last half hour of Friday
afternoon.
Day one
A class member to read the following statement:
“Case one: Caliban of Caliban’s Isle v Prospero, Duke of Milan.
Caliban accuses Prospero of enslaving, torturing him and breaking the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. You the jury members have to listen carefully to the
evidence and decide whether or not Prospero is guilty.
The Court is now in session
Court calls Caliban to the stand”
Day two
Court calls Prospero to the stand
Day three
Court calls Miranda and Ferdinand to the stand
Day four
Court calls Ariel to the stand
Day five
Court calls Antonio to the stand
Lawyers for the defence and prosecution to present a final statement.
Jury to decide the verdict
Final Verdict
Jury Member
Reporter
You are a member of the jury and you have to
decide whether Prospero is guilty or not guilty of
breaking the Declaration of Human Rights.
You are a reporter in the court room. You work for
a national newspaper. Your job is to take notes
and then write a short report at the end of the
session for the press.
You will need to listen carefully to all the
information given by the characters and note
down on paper any important evidence so you
don’t forget it. You will need the Declaration of
Human Rights beside you at all times.
At the end of the trial you and your fellow jury
members will have to have a meeting, look at
the evidence, and decide whether or not he is
guilty.
Listen carefully at all times! You must not be
biased, even if you like one character more than
another. You must make your decision on the
evidence presented, not on how you feel.
Try and write down in full some of the questions
and answers you hear, so that you can accurately
quote the characters in your report.
You can decide to present the hearing fairly, or
you can be biased toward one of the characters
you like. It is up to you!
Remember to give your report a catchy headline.
You can use a computer package such as MS
Publisher to create a newspaper front page.
The majority of you need to decide on your
verdict before it is announced. Take your time –
Prospero and Caliban’s futures depend on it!
Artist
Photographer
You are an artist employed by the court. You
need to draw pictures of the hearings that can
be used in reports and on TV.
You are a photographer for the Press. You need
to photograph the characters on trial and the
lawyers for the newspapers.
You do not need to draw everyone. You can
just focus on one or two characters, or maybe
the lawyers. Make sure you catch the
expression on the characters’ faces as that will
show how they feel the hearing is going.
Try and focus on character’s faces and catch their
expressions through the trial.
Listen carefully so that you can.
Make sure your camera is ready when the verdict
is read out!
Miranda
Ariel
You are Miranda and your father is on trial for his
treatment of Caliban when you were on the island.
You are Ariel, a Spirit. Prospero was your master
when he lived on the island. You are a witness for
both the prosecution AND the defence. You must
decide whether you are going to support Prospero
or not.
You have to defend your own actions and your
father’s actions. You have to be careful not to be
accused of anything or you may end up in prison too!
Should you be asked about your treatment of Caliban
you need to defend yourself with the fact that you
were only a child and didn’t know any better. (You
might get away with it, you might not!)
You need to point out that Caliban attacked you and
your father imprisoned Caliban to protect you.
You need to say bad things about Caliban and good
things about your father. If your father goes to jail
things won’t look good for you.
Remember your father brought you up by himself
without a mum to help, he home educated you, and
he allowed you to marry Ferdinand. You believe he
always told you everything you wanted to know…but
did he? You were often very sleepy…Maybe your dad
wasn’t as honest as he made out?
Reasons to support Prospero:
He rescued you from a tree that you had been
imprisoned in by Caliban’s mother.
You watched Prospero bring up his daughter by
himself and watched him protect her.
He gave you your freedom – he kept his promise.
You saw Caliban plot with Trinculo and Stephano to
kill Prospero.
Reasons to support Caliban:
Prospero kept delaying giving you your freedom.
If you complained about anything Prospero
threatened to trap you in the tree again.
You saw how badly Prospero treated Caliban –
using spirits to pinch and torture him.
You saw Prospero test and punish Ferdinand
because he loved Miranda.
It was Caliban’s island to begin with.
Ferdinand
Antonio
You are Ferdinand and your father-in-law is on
trial.
You are Antonio and your brother is on trial.
Caliban was set free from slavery whilst you
were on the island so you know little about
what happened in the past.
Your wife Miranda talks about a time when
Caliban attacked her. Do you believe her?
Prospero punished you and imprisoned you
when you arrived on the island. He chained
you up and made you carry his logs. You had
done nothing wrong so he breached the laws
of human rights.
If Prospero is guilty it could affect your wife
and yourself. Your wife might also be accused.
You are the King’s son – it wouldn’t look good
in the papers so you need to make sure that
Caliban loses, and Prospero is declared not
guilty!
You have never liked your brother. You banished
him to the island and took over his role as Duke
of Milan, but since he has come back to Milan you
haven’t got a job and are no longer important.
If Prospero is found guilty he might go to prison
and then you can be Duke again so it is probably
worth siding with Caliban!
You will need to think of some reasons as to why
you banished him. (You will probably need to
make them up as there is no evidence that he
did anything wrong – you just wanted some
power!) Maybe he was supporting the slave trade
in Milan and had lots of slaves, so you freed them
all and punished Prospero by sending him away?
Prospero used magic to shipwreck you all so he
doesn’t appear to care about how he treats people.
He also put you all in a trance on the island so he
is a dangerous man.
Be careful not to give away the fact that you have
tried to kill people or you will be on trial too!
Lawyer for the Defence
Lawyer for the Prosecution
Your role is to question the characters in court.
Your role is to question the characters in court.
You want Prospero to be found innocent so you
have to ask questions that will prove that Prospero
didn’t abuse his power or make Caliban his slave.
You will need to focus on how Prospero was
protecting himself and his daughter and you will
need to make Caliban look like the one who has
done wrong. You will need to bring out the good
side of Prospero so that people believe he couldn’t
have done bad things to Caliban and others.
You will need to find out:
You want Prospero to be found guilty, so you have
to ask questions that will prove that Prospero used
his power wrongly.
What did Caliban do to force Prospero to make him
a prisoner?
What did other characters do to Prospero to force
him to protect himself and Miranda with his magic?
Did Prospero take over Caliban’s island or was he
helping Caliban look after it?
You need to find out:
How has Prospero misused his magic?
How has he punished all the characters?
Where is the evidence to prove that he treated
Caliban as a slave and took away his island?
Why he was banished from Milan in the first place?
What had he done wrong? Had he been treating
people like slaves in Milan as well?
How has he disobeyed the Universal Declaration of
Human rights?
How did Prospero help educate/bring Caliban up?
What nice things has Prospero done for people?
Prospero
Caliban
You are Prospero and you are standing trial. You
need to defend yourself.
You are Caliban and you are the reason that
Prospero is on trial. You are accusing him of
breaking human rights laws, making you a slave
and torturing you and others. You want
compensation!
You have been accused of breaking the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
You have to prove that you didn’t make Caliban your
slave but that you were protecting your daughter
and yourself. You have to find examples of when
you were nice to Caliban (e.g. having him in your
den, teaching him to speak and read).
You need to prove that you used your magic fairly
(this will be hard, as you used your magic to torture
Caliban, you threatened to trap Ariel’s spirit in a
tree, and you magicked up a storm that caused a
shipwreck!) Maybe your magic was always used to
protect yourself?
You need to make out that you are the person who
has been wronged – that you were banished from
your country and you lost your dukedom and people
tried to kill you, and then Caliban tried to attack your
daughter.
You need to prove that you are fair and kind.
When questioned you will need to give examples
of the ways Prospero tortured you, the jobs he
made you do, and how he treated you as a slave.
You will need to defend yourself when you are
accused of attacking Miranda. Maybe you were
misunderstood?
You need to explain that the island belonged to
you and your mother, and that Prospero took it
over using magic.
You will need to point out that Prospero did not
respect you or your cultural background and tried
to change you so that you were more like him.
He took away your rights and freedom and you are
now suffering emotionally and feel that you will
never recover from the torture he put you through.
He needs to be imprisoned, and you need money!
The following sections of Nick Wood’s adaptation are useful in deciding
whether or not Prospero is guilty because they provide evidence of both
Prospero’s and Caliban’s characters.
Section 1
Adapted from act one, scene two of Shakespeare’s text
Prospero and the spirits explain how Prospero and Miranda ended up on the
island:
PROSPERO
Cans’t thou remember how thou cam’st here?
MIRANDA
Sir, I cannot.
PROSPERO
'Tis time.
Sit down: for thou must now know farther.
Miranda sits by Prospero to listen to his story. The focus moves to Jim and Tinca who are
summoned by Prospero. They hesitate, not wanting to risk offending him. Prospero urges
them on.
JIM
Twelve years since thy father was Duke of Milan, his only heir.
TINCA
Thy uncle…
PROSPERO
Thy false uncle - My brother Antonio
Jim and Tinca wait to continue.
JIM
Proved perfidious. He was put to all the management of the state, by Prospero, thy father.
TINCA
Who found his library was kingdom large enough, and thus
PROSPERO
Working to better my mind…
JIM
And thus cast government upon his brother, thy treacherous uncle, while he remained
rapt in secret studies…
TINCA
That brother did believe
he was indeed the duke, and upon the bidding of the King of Naples…
PROSPERO
My sworn enemy,
JIM
One midnight, did open the gates of Milan to a treacherous army…
TINCA
That did seize thy father and thy crying self.
MIRANDA
So how came we here ashore to this isle?
PROSPERO
Forward with your tale.
TINCA
First they hurried you aboard a bark,
Bore you some leagues to sea…
JIM
And there placed you both in a rotten carcass of a boat, with neither tackle, nor sail, nor
mast…
TINCA
The very rats instinctively had quit it.
MIRANDA
Alack, what trouble was I then to you!
Jim goes to continue but Prospero stops him.
PROSPERO
O, a cherubim thou wast that did preserve me. Continue.
JIM
Some food and fresh water did Gonzalo, thy father’s friend, provide for thee,
PROSPERO
And my books! Volumes that
I prize above my dukedom.
MIRANDA
Would that I might ever see that man! So how came we ashore?
TINCA
Providence did bring thee to here.
PROSPERO
Enough. My cloak.
MIRANDA
And these men, Antonio and the King of Naples are aboard the vessel that I did think to
see perish?
PROSPERO
No more questions.
Thou art inclined to sleep;
I know thou canst not choose.
Miranda sleeps.
Section 2
Adapted from act one, scene two of Shakespeare’s text
Prospero and Miranda go to see Caliban. We learn why Caliban has become
Prospero’s slave:
PROSPERO
Awake! thou hast slept well; Awake!
Come we'll visit Caliban my slave.
MIRANDA
'Tis a villain, sir,
I do not love to look on.
PROSPERO
But, as 'tis, he does make our fire, and fetch in our wood.
What, ho! slave! Caliban!
CALIBAN
There's wood enough within.
PROSPERO
Come forth, I say! there's other business for thee.
Enter Caliban.
CALIBAN
As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd
With raven's feather from unwholesome fen
Drop on you both!
PROSPERO
For this to-night thou shalt have cramps,
Thou shalt be pinch'd, each pinch more stinging
Than bees that made 'em.
CALIBAN
This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first,
Thou strokedst me and madest much of me, and then I loved thee
And show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile:
Cursed be I that did so! All the charms
Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!
For I am all the subjects that you have
PROSPERO
I have used thee,
Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee
In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate
The honour of my child.
CALIBAN
Would't had been done!
Thou didst prevent me; else I had peopled
This isle with Calibans.
MIRANDA
Abhorred slave! I pitied thee,
Taught thee to speak,
CALIBAN
You taught me language; and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse.
PROSPERO
Fetch us in fuel; and be quick.
If thou neglect'st what I command, I'll rack thee with old cramps,
CALIBAN
No, pray thee.
I must obey, his art is of such power.
Section 3
Adapted from act one, scene two of Shakespeare’s text
Ariel wants to be released but Prospero keeps breaking his promise:
ARIEL
Is there more toil? Let me remember thee what thou hast promised.
PROSPERO
What is't thou canst demand?
ARIEL
My liberty.
PROSPERO
Before the time be out? No more!
ARIEL
Thou didst promise.
PROSPERO
Dost thou forget
From what a torment I did free thee?
Hast thou forgot the foul witch Sycorax?
ARIEL
No, master.
PROSPERO
Remember how thou wast her servant;
A spirit too delicate to act her earthy and abhorr'd commands,
She did confine thee into a cloven pine,
Where thou didst painfully remain
A dozen years; within which space she died
And left thee there.
It was mine art,
When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape
The pine and let thee out.
ARIEL
I thank thee, master.
PROSPERO
If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak
And peg thee in his knotty entrails till
Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters.
ARIEL
Forgive me, master, I will do thy bidding.
PROSPERO
Do so, and after two days
I will discharge thee.
Section 4
Adapted from act one, scene two of Shakespeare’s text
Ferdinand and Miranda have met and fallen in love. Prospero is unhappy and does
not trust Ferdinand, so uses his magic to overpower him:
PROSPERO To FERDINAND
A word, good sir;
I fear you have done yourself some wrong
MIRANDA
Why speaks my father so ungently? This
Is the third man that e'er I saw, the first
That e'er I sigh'd for.
FERDINAND
O, if your affection hath not gone forth, I'll make you
The queen of Naples.
PROSPERO
They are both in either's powers; but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light.
I charge thee that thou hast put thyself
Upon this island as a spy.
FERDINAND
No, as I am a man.
MIRANDA
There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.
PROSPERO
Speak not you for him; he's a traitor. Come;
I'll manacle thy neck and feet together:
Sea-water shalt thou drink; Follow.
FERDINAND
No, sir, I will resist such entertainment.
Ferdinand draws, but Prospero uses his magic.
Section 5
Adapted from act two, scene two of Shakespeare’s text
Caliban is carrying wood. Trinculo (the jester from the ship) discovers him. Caliban
thinks he is a spirit that Prospero has sent to torment him. Trinculo sees Caliban as
an animal:
A noise of thunder heard. Enter Caliban with a burden of wood.
CALIBAN
All the infections that the sun sucks up
From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall and make him
By inch-meal a disease! His spirits hear me
And yet I needs must curse.
Enter Trinculo.
Here comes a spirit of his, to torment me
For bringing wood in slowly. I'll fall flat;
Perchance he will not mind me.
TRINCULO
What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? He smells like a fish. Legged like a
man and his fins like arms! This is no fish,
but an islander, that hath lately suffered by a
thunderbolt.
Section 6
Adapted from act two, scene two and act three, scene two of
Shakespeare’s text
Stephano has joined Trinculo. Caliban gets drunk and explains why he hates
Prospero. Caliban thinks Stephano is a god:
STEPHANO
How now, moon-calf!
CALIBAN
Hast thou not dropp'd from heaven?
STEPHANO
Out o' the moon: I was the man i' the moon.
CALIBAN
I have seen thee
STEPHANO
Come, swear to that; kiss the book.
Caliban drinks.
CALIBAN
I'll show thee the best springs; I'll pluck thee berries;
I'll fish for thee and get thee wood enough.
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve!
I'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee,
Thou wondrous man.
TRINCULO
A most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of a
Poor drunkard!
Enter Ariel, invisible.
CALIBAN
As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a
sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island.
ARIEL
Thou liest.
CALIBAN
Thou liest, thou jesting monkey, thou
TRINCULO
Why, I said nothing.
STEPHANO
Mum, then, and no more. Proceed.
CALIBAN
I say, by sorcery he got this isle;
From me he got it. If thy greatness will
Revenge it on him thou shalt be lord of it and I'll serve thee.
STEPHANO
Canst thou bring me to the party?
CALIBAN
Yea, yea, my lord: I'll yield him thee asleep,
Where thou mayst knock a nail into his head.
Remember
First to possess his books; for without them
He's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not
One spirit to command: they all do hate him
As rootedly as I.
Section 7
Adapted from act five, scene one of Shakespeare’s text
Prospero sets Ariel and Caliban free and looks forward to the wedding of Miranda
and Ferdinand, and to once more being the Duke of Milan:
PROSPERO
Bravely, my spirit. Set Caliban and his companions free;
Untie the spell, and thou shalt be free.
Exit Ariel.
PROSPERO
Sir, I invite your highness and your train
To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest
And in the morn I'll bring you to your ship and so to Naples,
Where I have hope to see the nuptial
Of these our dear-beloved solemnized;
And thence retire me to my Milan, where
Every third thought shall be my grave.
Exit Alonso et al.
My Ariel, chick,
That is thy charge: then to the elements
Be free, and fare thou well!
Ariel vanishes before Prospero can say goodbye.
The Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/introduction/index.html
1.
We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and
ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.
2.
Don't discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.
3.
The right to life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.
4.
Slavery – past and present. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot
make anyone our slave.
5.
Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.
6.
We all have the same right to use the law. I am a person just like you!
7.
We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us
all fairly.
8.
Fair treatment by fair courts. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not
treated fairly.
9.
Unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason
and keep us there, or to send us away from our country.
10.
The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try
us should not let anyone tell them what to do.
11.
Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it
is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not
true.
12.
The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the
right to come into our home, open our letters or bother us or our family without a
good reason.
13.
Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country
and to travel as we wish.
14.
The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country,
we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
15.
The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.
16.
Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if
they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and
when they are separated.
17.
Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody
should take our things from us without a good reason.
18.
Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to
have a religion, or to change it if we want.
19.
Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to
think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.
20.
Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work
together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we
don't want to.
21.
The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our
country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.
22.
The right to social security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine,
education, and child care, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill
or old.
23.
Workers' rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their
work, and to join a trade union.
24.
The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax.
25.
A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children,
people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be
cared for.
26.
The right to education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We
should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents
can choose what we learn.
27.
Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one's own artistic
creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have
the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that ‘art’, science and
learning bring.
28.
A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and
freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
29.
Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their
rights and freedoms.
30.
Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us.
Further activities
Get writing
•
•
•
•
If Gonzalo had had a pen and paper on the island, what might his diaries have said?
Create a script and storyboard for a ‘Wish you were here’ on Caliban’s island. What
would make people want to holiday on the island? What aspects of the island might the
TV producers want to gloss over?
Imagine that Caliban sent a message in a bottle from the island five years after
everyone had left. What might his message say? Is he happy to have his island back?
Write a spell that may have been in one of Prospero’s magic books.
Get talking
•
•
•
Why does Prospero let Caliban go at the end of the play?
Will Miranda and Ferdinand be happy?
If you had to escape in a small boat and could only take fifteen things with you, what
would you take? (There will be no electricity in a boat for several months so you might
as well leave the PSPs at home!) Remember you will need food. Imagine you were
taking a toddler in the boat with you. How could this change the things you were taking?
Get creative
•
•
•
•
Create a map of the island.
Compose a melody to one of Ariel’s lilting songs, or create a soundscape reflecting the
music of the island
Design a set and/or costumes for your own production of The Tempest. What genre
would you set it in? Why? Your set and costumes should reflect this….
Make a snake and ladders game that reflects the story of The Tempest.
Set Design for
A Tempest
by Chris de Wilde
The Tempest: How the characters relate to one another
Ariel
Miranda
Spirits
Prospero
Caliban
Antonio
Trinculo
Gonzalo
Ferdinand
Stephano
Alonso
King of Naples
Meet the teams:
Team Prospero
Prospero
Prospero used to be Duke of Milan but he was overthrown and
escaped to this island with Miranda and his magic books. He now rules
the island using his magical powers.
Prospero likes to be in control at all times. Anyone who challenges him
gets punished or sent to sleep... A man to be reckoned with!
Miranda is Prospero’s daughter. If she was at a school in the UK she would
probably be in year 11. Banished with Prospero when she was only a preschooler, Prospero and Caliban are the only men she has met, until the
arrival of Ferdinand who she promptly falls in love with! Miranda has many
questions about life, but if she asks too much Prospero uses his magical
powers to send her to sleep. How unfair is that!
Ariel
Ariel is Prospero’s servant. Prospero released Ariel from a tree where he had
been trapped by a witch, Sycorax. His magical powers control Ariel. Prospero
keeps promising to set Ariel free, but so far he has not kept his promise and
Ariel is getting fed up!
Caliban is Prospero’s slave. Caliban was already on the island when
Prospero and Miranda arrived. At first Caliban brought him up as a son and
tried to educate him, but when Caliban “attacked” Miranda Prospero made
him a slave. Using his magic powers, he controls Caliban by mental and
physical torture, causing spirits to pinch and torment him if he does
something wrong or offends Prospero in any way. Caliban wants his island
back. Maybe the shipwrecked sailors can help him?
Spirits
Miranda
The spirits of the island are controlled by Prospero.
Caliban
Meet the teams:
Team Alonso
Alonso
Alonso is the king of Naples and was involved n the overthrowing of
Prospero twelve years ago. He is slightly baffled and rather scared
when he comes face to face with Prospero again. Well – wouldn’t you
be? He believes that his son Ferdinand is dead, and Prospero
doesn’t rush to tell him otherwise!
Gonzalo
Gonzalo is one of Alonzo’s servants and he helped Prospero and Miranda
escape to the island. He is possibly the only member of Alonso’s team that
can be trusted.
Antonio
Antonio is the new duke of Milan and Prospero’s evil brother. He was
responsible for banishing Prospero. He is now plotting with Alonso’s
brother to get rid of the King too! A bit of a power freak, and nasty with it!
Trinculo
Trinculo is the ship’s jester. He befriends Caliban as he wants to bring
him back to the mainland to make money out of him in a “freak show” –
that’s a bit like a circus.
Stephano
Stephano is Trinculo’s drunken friend. He gets Caliban drunk and
allows Caliban to believe that Stephano is a god. Together Trinculo,
Caliban and Stephano plot to kill Prospero so that they can take over
the island and Ferdinand can marry Miranda.
Ferdinand is the King’s son. In the shipwreck he ends up on a different
side of the island to his father and comes across Miranda and falls in
love with her. Prospero imprisons him and makes him carry logs until
he has reconciled himself with the fact that it is time to let Miranda
follow her own life. At the end of the play, Ferdinand and Miranda
travel back to the mainland together to get married.
Ferdinand
Nottingham Playhouse • Wellington Circus • Nottingham • NG1 5AF
www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
0115 947 4361