This Rough Magic
“They hurried us aboard a barge, and carried us miles out to sea, where they had prepared a rotten carcass of a boat, with no sails or masts or ropes – even the rats had the sense to abandon it.”
A chaotic storm erupts. A disastrous shipwreck ensues. Refugees Prospero, Miranda and Ariel are washed ashore on Christmas Island seeking asylum in Australia. Miranda connects with Caliban, a Christmas Island local who transforms from rescuer to detention centre guard. Detained by authorities, Prospero and Ariel summon life-changing forces, risking everything in pursuit of freedom.
Opening with the SIEV 221 shipwreck of 2010, This Rough Magic is an exhilarating epic of power reckoning, survival and the cost of pursuing the promise of a better life. A contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest for our time, the play conjures an island of strange sounds and wondrous sights, enigmatic characters and surprising relationships. A powerful epic where ‘brave new world’ poetry collides with ‘stop the boats’ rhetoric and interpolations of Persian poetry, philosophy and storytelling to deliver a radically different representation of offshore detention.The Street Theatre
World Premiere Season
11 to 19 November 2023
Producer
The Street Theatre
15 Childers Street
Canberra ACT 2601
Script available through Currency Press.
This project is made possible with the support of the ACT government.
“Visually magnificent, the production is directed by Beng Oh, designed by Imogen Keen, lit by Gerry Corcoran, sound design by Kyle Sheedy, with dramaturgy from Granaz Moussavi and Rebecca Clode, to create the mysterious ambience of a magical island … Oh’s sophisticated understanding of theatre-art ensures that the play’s kaleidoscope of scenes is imaginatively handled, as cast members, while playing character roles, also merge into the background as assorted asylum seekers, locals and tourists in an episodic plot covering a storm at sea, an introduction to the diving spots of Christmas Island, media messages from named Australian politicians and conversations with Australian journalists.”
Canberra City News
WRITER
Helen Machalias
DIRECTOR
Beng Oh
DRAMATURGS
Dr Rebecca Clode, Granaz Moussavi
SET AND COSTUME DESIGN
Imogen Keen
LIGHTING DESIGN
Gerry Corcoran
SOUND DESIGN
Kyle Sheedy
CULTURAL CONSULTANTS
Sheida Jafari, Parastoo Seif
PUBLICITY
Su Hodge
PHOTOGRAPHY
Shelly Higgs
CAST
Lainie Hart
George Kanaan
Andre Le
Reza Momenzada
Kaitlin Nihill
STAGE MANAGER
Brittany Myers
LIGHTING OPERATOR
William Malam
SOUND OPERATOR
Kyle Sheedy
SET CONSTRUCTION
AVL Australia
PRODUCTION CREW
Gerry Corcoran
Darren Hawkins
William Malam
Connor McKay