This Last Tempest is a visual spectacle that immerses you in atmospheric sound. It begins where Shakespeare left off: Ariel and Caliban are left alone on the enchanted island, as Prospero's ship sails over the horizon and out of view...
In the hours that follow, the magician's former servants, the 'savage' and the 'airy spirit' are free to tell their unheard versions of the story. They use the magic of the words their master taught them to conjure-up their own brave new world, where spirits and monsters are people and inanimate things are alive. They perform a tempest and, as the wild waves roar around them, they begin again together.
Working with composer and musician Neil Johnson, Uninvited Guests fill this strange yet familiar island with guitar noise, evocative sounds and sweet airs. Part theatre, part gig, this radical take on The Tempest is for both those who know Shakespeare well and audiences new to the play.
Funded by Arts Council England. Commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre and Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. Developed at The Other Place at the RSC, and with support from Tobacco Factory Theatres.
"I am trembling, every inch of me vibrating, with how much I love this show." Maddy Costa
"...hypnotic performances and writing that has a rythym of Shakespeare but an air of modernity, creating an atmospheric and a magical evening." Liverpool50 Blog
This Last Tempest toured nationally in autumn 2014 and spring 2015.
Past Performances
Battersea Arts Centre, London, 22-24 March 2016
Mayfest, Bristol, 15-16 May 2015
Battersea Arts Centre, London, 18 July 2014
Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, 9-10 October 2014
Malvern Theatres, 4-5 November 2014
Folkestone Quarterhouse, 7-8 November 2014
Cambridge Junction, 26 November 2014
Lakeside Theatre, Colchester, 27 November 2014
Theatre Royal Margate, 28-29 November 2014
Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 23-24 January 2015
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, 17 February 2015
Axis Arts Centre, Crewe, 19 February 2015
Brighton Dome, 20-21 March 2015
Here's an Arias for the Apocalypse interview for Mayfest Radio, in which Paul talks about the show and plays Sunn0))), Current 93, Coil, The Fall and more music to soundtrack the end of the world:
https://www.mixcloud.com/mayfest_radio/arias-for-an-apocalypse-paul-clarke-uninvited-guests/
Some reviews and writings:
http://www.whatsonstage.com/bristol-theatre/reviews/mayfest-bristol-review-matt-trueman_37830.html
http://statesofdeliquescence.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/got-life-got-music-got-theatre.html
http://www.northwestend.co.uk/index.php/professional-reviews/268-this-last-tempest-contact-theatre
http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/reviews/this_last_tempest.php
http://festivalities.tumblr.com/post/119191600519/conjuring-acts-collective-might
https://www.newwelshreview.com/article.php?id=963
http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/this-last-tempest/