The Storm
In The Tempest, before the shipwreck, Gonzalo asks the Boatswain to regain his composure, to which the latter replies: “When the sea is calm.” But which sea is he talking about? Perhaps the Atlantic or the North Sea? Not at all. The sea in question is the Mediterranean, a sea that Shakespeare likely knew only from books. But that’s enough for him to choose it as the backdrop and setting for many of his plays, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Much Ado About Nothing, from The Winter’s Tale to Twelfth Night, and, of course, The Tempest. It’s a sea that unites them all, so it’s no surprise that the island where the shipwrecked land is also home to some of the characters from these comedies.
The storm (economic? social? political? cultural?) unleashed by Prospero disrupts order, challenges social hierarchies, and creates chaos, disorientation, and confusion. “There was none but such as felt the fever of the delirium, and did commit some rash acts of desperation,” Ariel recounts in the second scene of the first act. The Tempest challenges established power: who can govern? Is sovereignty necessary? “These furious waves care greatly for the king,” shouts the Boatswain. A leader's words seem to have lost their power…
And this can only be possible on an island, a different, alternative place, open to experimentation… just as Gonzalo describes it: “No more borders, no ruler, everything shared!” The island becomes a stage where the thin line between illusion and reality seems to vanish. Men, monsters, beasts, and ghosts will experience a thrilling showdown orchestrated by Prospero-Shakespeare, the great magician who commands the elements, whose orders open tombs and release the dead, and who can darken the sun at noon, silence the winds, and create magical melodies.
“The island is full of songs, sounds, and sweet melodies that delight and do no harm,” Caliban explains to the two drunks, Stephano and Trinculo. And this music will be the songs from one of the most famous musicals in the history of cinema, HAIR, a hymn to freedom and love: “When the moon enters the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planet.”
Thus begins Acquarius, and this evoked peace echoes the horizon of hope tinged with melancholy that concludes the play: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
All of this is The Tempest… and perhaps something more that we’ll discover and build together with the students who want to embark on this journey to a mysterious island where shadows and dreams seem far more tangible than human beings.
Ferdinando Ceriani
The theater workshop begins in November and concludes in May with the staging of a final performance. All members of the Luiss Community with an institutional relationship with the University are eligible to participate in the workshop.
2023/2024 Academic Year Calendar
November
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Thursday, November 30, 2023
December
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
January
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Thursday, January 25, 2024
February
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Thursday, February 29, 2024
March
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
April
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
May
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Thursday, May 30, 2024
Classes will be held from 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM in the Nocco Room at 11 Via Parenzo.
The final show will be performed three times at the Teatro Parioli (Via Giosuè Borsi, 20) on June 3, 4, and 5, 2024.