On select dates through the month of October, Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC) invites you to free outdoor performances of The Tempest for the company’s seventh annual Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series.
Though scholars categorize the play as a romance, TSC’s artistic director Dan McCleary says the story encompasses so much, touching on themes of betrayal, revenge, and love; it even dips into the genre of science fiction as the world of the story is entrenched in magic. “The Tempest starts tragically,” the director says, “but it ends with grace, and along the way, there’s some of the most beautiful poetry.” And some of this poetry you probably recognize: “brave new world,” “What’s past is prologue,” “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.”
This year happens to be the 400th anniversary of the printing of Shakespeare’s First Folio, in which The Tempest appears first in the collection. Written in 1610-1611, the work is thought to be one of the last plays Shakespeare wrote alone. “It’s his farewell to the stage,” McCleary says. “And so it’s personal and, like the best science fiction stories, even though it might be in a land of fantasy, it’s quite meaningful. And Shakespeare is meant to be played, not read. It’s meant to be fun and not every word is meant to be understood necessarily. But it is meant to be enjoyed.”
For TSC’s performances, the company has condensed the play to 90 minutes, “without sacrificing any of the story or any of the music — a good 60 to 65 percent of the play is music. It’s sung or it’s danced or it’s underscored down to the island [the play’s setting].”
The performances, McCleary adds, will also be outdoors, so the sounds of nature and Memphis — airplanes, birds, cars, neighbors passing through — will add to the soundscapes and to the theatrical experience. “The whole notion of [the outdoor performances] to make it accessible, surprising, and fun,” McCleary says. “We wanted happy accidents with patrons. We wanted to be in a public forum, where we might confound people’s notion of a Shakespeare play and theater space. The whole purpose of this initially was wanting to capture a young person who was, for instance, coming by on a skateboard and just capture that person for five minutes and then maybe they’re on their way, but they had five minutes of hearing and seeing Shakespeare. We hope it brings an immediacy to the storytelling that audiences walk away, saying, ‘I’m never going to see something like that again.’”
For this series, in addition to the traditional free outdoor performances, TSC has added two ticketed indoor performances on October 28th and 29th for half-priced admission. For these two performances, patrons can purchase tickets here. A full schedule of performances can be found below, and more information on TSC’s Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series can be found here.
FREE Outdoor Performances, No Reservation Required:
Friday, October 6, 7 p.m.: Overton Square’s Chimes Square Courtyard
Saturday, October 7, 4 p.m.: Woodlawn, LaGrange, Tennessee, no reservations required
Sunday, October 8, 3 p.m.: Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Friday, October 13, 7 p.m.: Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center
Sunday, October 15, 4 p.m.: Overton Shell
Thursday, October 19, 7 p.m.: Broad Avenue Wiseacre Brewery
Friday, October 20, 7 p.m.: St. George’s Episcopal Church
Saturday, October 21, 7 p.m.: Collierville Town Square’s Train Depot
Sunday, October 22, 3 p.m.: Davies Manor
Half-Price Tabor Stage Performances, Reservations Required:
Saturday, October 28, 7:30 p.m.: Tennessee Shakespeare Company
Sunday, October 29, 3 p.m.: Tennessee Shakespeare Company