Shakespeare in space: Fredericton theatre company to stage out-of-this-world take on The Tempest
William Shakespeare once wrote “All the world’s a stage”, and this summer, one of ‘the Immortal Bard’s’ most famous plays will take stage at the Fredericton’s Botanic Garden.
After a year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fredericton’s Bard in the Barracks Theatre Company is returning to action, and they’re taking a fresh take on Shakespeare’s classic The Tempest to the capital city’s botanical gardens…and beyond.
“It’s going to be great to see audiences again,” says Len Falkenstein, artistic director of the Bard in the Barracks Theatre Company. “We have a really enthusiastic fan base for these shows and I’ve seen so many comments to the effect of ‘can’t wait!’.”
Their out-of-this world take on Shakespeare reimagines The Tempest in outer space, in a staging inspired by science fiction B-movies and television series of the 1950s and 60s.
"I'm playing Ariel, and in this version of The Tempest, Ariel is a sentient A.I. slash cyborg who lives on this desert planet. She is of such advanced technology that her capabilities almost seem like magic,” explains actor Lara Lewis.
Last summer would have been the 15th season for the Bard in the Barracks Theatre Company, but was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Now, with the waves of the pandemic receding and New Brunswickers eager to take in live entertainment, the company is excited to get back to work.
"As a person who was, like all of us, forced into a hiatus from life, from different things we enjoy doing and that are important to us, it was very sad and difficult for me last year to not be able to participate in live theatre,” says actor Rebekah Chasse.
Chasse says the readjustment to getting her "theatre legs" beneath her again really comes with adjusting how to be back around crowds of people.
But it's also those crowds that they missed.
“To see those faces in the audience next week, and hear the laughter and the applause, is going to be the greatest feeling in the world,” adds Falkenstein.
The Bard in the Barracks Theatre Company will be performing The Tempest from June 24-July 4 in the Fredericton Botanic Gardens.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.