On a cold Tuesday night in early February 2017, Brian Lockey's Shakespeare class went on a field trip to St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn to see a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest-- an ambitious collaboration involving Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London and St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn that took place at the New St. Ann's at the Tobacco Warehouse near the Brooklyn Bridge. This experimental production of one of Shakespeare's final plays, starring Harriet Walter and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, was performed by an all-female cast, presenting Shakespeare's famous island play in the context of a maximum-security female prison. Our class research project was to do dramaturgical background on this production in order to be able to contextualize and to understand the innovations that were incorporated into Lloyd's version of the timeless classic.
Abbey Santoro researched the history of Tempest productions during the 17th and 18th centuries, while Matthew Newberry researched productions of the play during the 19th and 20th centuries. Gabrielle Adinolfi researched the history of the St. Ann's Warehouse Theater in Brooklyn, while Isabella Arbelaez wrote a history of Donmar Warehouse in London-- the institution which collaborated with St. Ann's in this innovative production. Finally, Alaine Lim wrote a history of the cast, including the well-known lead, Harriet Walter.
We hope that you will enjoy reading about the theatrical history, institutions, and individuals that made possible this groundbreaking production of one of Shakespeare's most interesting and relevant works!
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