Dates: November - December 2021

Company: Black Swan State Theatre Company

Role: Director

 

2022 PAWA Nominations: Outstanding Direction of a Mainstage Production; Best Ensemble.

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About

The first show ever staged by Black Swan was Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, at the Octagon Theatre. So, in celebration of their 30th birthday, the company asked its audience to choose which of Shakespeare's 37 plays they wanted to see. Over 1,800 votes were cast, and The Tempest won by the finest of margins. It will be only the fifth different Shakespeare title the company has staged.

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This is going to be a very special show, with a whole lot of audience engagement in the making and performing of the work. The spellbinding Pavan Hari is composing music and taking on the part of Ariel in his first major theatrical role. The wonderful Sam Chester will take the role of movement director with an ensemble of some of Perth's finest actors, led by the prodigious talent of Humphrey Bower in the role of Prospero. I'm excited.

Responses

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★ ★ ★ ★ ½ Much like the ocean surrounding the island in the play, the production is forever in motion and transformative in its staging, set on sand with a thin continuous stream of the grain-sized substance falling from the ceiling throughout the duration of the 100-minute performance, no interval...It is a true ensemble effort with each member of the cast of diverse ages, ethnicities and genders being an integral piece of The Tempest puzzle

The West Australian

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The cast move amidst the stage without ever interrupting the flow of the other, with artful staging and choreography. With so many strong features in theatre-making, The Tempest is truly a boast from the Black Swan Theatre Company, and a feather in the cap of every creative involved. If we were able to rate The Tempest higher than 5 stars, we would have!

Out In Perth

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Director Matt Edgerton’s take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a joyous production played in an open space, animated by simple yet playful movement.

Limelight Magazine

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