NCPA Drama The Tempest

- About
- Synopsis
- Creative
- Artist
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About

The five-act play The Tempest is the last play Shakespeare wrote by himself, demonstrating his vision of the future of humanity in the late stages of his works. He depicts the sadness and joy in the world in his work and calls for the spirit of forgiveness, reconciliation, and charity. The peacefulness and atmosphere that it exhibits, as well as its desire for the future of mankind make it even more an immortal classic in literary history. As the NCPA’s fourth production of Shakespeare’s masterpieces following A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and King Lear, this production also assembles a group of outstanding creative and actor teams. The well-known drama and film director, Tim Supple will be the director of the play, and the famous Chinese performing artist, PU Cunxin will play the role of the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero.

Meanwhile, The Tempest is one of the excellent dramas in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare Folio Project, which is set to explore a new direction for Shakespearean drama translations, taking into consideration suitability for dramatic presentations, ease of actors’ reading, and the improvements of popular audience appreciation and to introduce new translations of Shakespearean scripts.

Playwright: William Shakespeare
Script Translator: So Kwok Wan

Director: Tim Supple
Dramaturg: Katie Ebner-Landy
Set Designer: LIU Xinglin
Costume Designer: ZHAO Tong
Movement Director/Choreographer: WANG Yabin
Composer/Music Director: Barry Ganberg
Music Accompaniment Designer: Barry Ganberg and Tulegur Gangzi
Lighting Designer: TAN Hua
Sound Designers: ZHOU Ziyu, LIU Fengshuo
Deputy Director: ZHA Wenyuan

Script Editor/Compilation Coordinator: WENG Shihui (Translation Project Supervisor)

Cast
Prospero: PU Cunxin
Miranda: LI Xiaomeng
Ariel: DONG Wenliang*
Caliban: WANG Haowei*
Alonso: ZHAO Ling*
Gonzalo: CAI Hongxiang
Ferdinand: CHEN Xiwen*
Antonio: FENG Yang*
Sebastian: WANG Qianyu*
Adrian: LI Xichang*
Francisco: YANG Qi*
Stephano:WU Song*
Trinculo: YU Mengchao*
Captain: LIU Wenyi*
Boatswain: FU Pengxu
Spirits/Sailors: ZHANG Shuojie*, LIU Beibei*, LIU Xiaowen*, XU Zixuan*, YAO Ruikun*, Ding Jiayi, LIU Ning, LIU Yixuan, Refayili, WANG Yu
Musicians: TONG Zhigang, MA Yuan
* repsesents members of NCPA Drama Ensemble

Synopsis

A ship runs aground on the shore of a small island during a violent tempest. On the island, Prospero, a learned man with supernatural powers, tells his daughter Miranda the truth of the past: 12 years ago, he was the Duke of Milan. However, his younger brother Antonio colluded with Alonso (the king of Naples, a sworn enemy for Prospero) and usurpeded his dukedom. Prospero and his three-year-old daughter Miranda were cast away at sea. By luck, they survived and drifted to an isolated island.

Prospero calls forth a tempest at sea because the old enemies, who cruelly exiled him in the past, i.e., Antonio, Alonso and Alonso’s sister Sebastian are on the ship, as well as Gonzalo, Alonso’s son Ferdinand, nobles, sailors, crew, Alonso’s wine servants and jesters Stephano and Trinculo. Prospero enslaves the spirits on the island, including the most powerful spirit Ariel. The deformed monster Caliban is also enslaved, whose mother was a witch who had previously ruled the isolated island.

The members of nobility are sent into safety by Prospero on the island, so as to test, torture and intimidate them. Stephano and Trinculo come across Caliban after they go ashore. The spirit Ariel leads the way for Prince Ferdinand alone to visit Miranda. On a small island, everyone will undergo tremendous ups and downs within one day…

Creative

So Kwok WanScript Translator

So Kwok Wan

So Kwok Wan is Deputy Programme Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Since 1995, he has been responsible for planning the invitations to international theatre, dance and music performances, commissioning Chinese and international artists to compose new works, and dealing with cooperation projects. He also serves as editor-in-chief at the publishing department of the Arts Festival. Over the years, he has translated and edited captions for many theatrical works.

At the invitation of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Translation Plan for Shakespeare,” he translated Henry V, the first Shakespearean play for him and it premiered at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre in November 2016. The Tempest is a second Shakespearean play translated by him. His third translation is Twelfth Night, which will premiere at the Guangzhou Dramatic Arts Centre in October 2018.

So Kwok Wan received college education in Hong Kong and France, studying filmology, literature, art and arts and cultural management.

Tim SuppleDirector

Tim Supple

Tim Supple has directed, adapted and devised theatre throughout the world. He has worked regularly at The National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company. In the 1990’s, he was Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre in London. Tim’s work includes Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night (also on film); Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist; Carol Ann Duffy's Grimm Tales and More Grimm Tales; Kipling's The Jungle Book; Lorca’s Blood Wedding; Wedekind’s Spring Awakening; Ted Hughes’ Tales From Ovid; Goldoni’s A Servant to Two Masters; Ostrovsky’s Too Clever By Half; Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Midnight’s Children. Opera productions include The Magic Flute, The Return of Ulysses, Babette’s Feast and Hansel and Gretal. Tim launched Dash Arts with Josephine Burton in 2005 to create new performance in collaboration with artists across the world. In 2006, he created a multi-lingual A Midsummer Night’s Dream in India: an international success, the production completed two tours of India, extensive tours of the UK, Australia and North America, two seasons at Stratford-upon-Avon and a season at the Roundhouse in London. In 2011 Tim created a new theatrical adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights with the celebrated Lebanese author Hanan al Shaykh for Luminato Festival, Toronto. The production developed over two years in North Africa and the Middle East with a cast and creative team drawn from the Arabic speaking world. Performed in three languages over six hours, One Thousand and One Nights had its European premiere at Edinburgh International Festival in August. In 2017, Tim created Freedom on the Tyne, an epic city-wide play on the streets and bridges of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King and great civil rights struggles through history. He has directed productions for ensembles in Bergen, Berlin, and Istanbul.

Dash Arts theatre projects in development include a staging of the epic Iranian national poem, The Shahnameh and the King Lear World Theatre Project that will bring together actors from the world’s great theatre traditions and practices to create a multi-lingual and cross national production for a global audience.

Tim Supple’s many awards and nominations include: Time Out, Evening Standard, TMA, Olivier, BAFTA (London); Herald Angel, Dora (Toronto); and Yapi Krede Afifi (Istanbul).

Katie Ebner-LandyDramaturg

Katie Ebner-Landy

Katie Ebner-Landy is a dramaturg. She has worked internationally on theatre, opera and film.

She has collaborated with Tim Supple on a number of productions. She is the dramaturg on his King Lear World Theatre Workshops (2014 –) – the building of a multilingual, cross-national production of King Lear – in the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, India and Abu-Dhabi. She was the writer and adapter of four verbatim plays about international civil rights struggles for his Freedom on the Tyne (2017), an immersive celebration of Martin Luther King in Newcastle. Previously she translated and adapted the surtitle libretto for Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (2017) at the Grange Festival of Opera, along with conducting the dramaturgy. With Tim Supple, she is currently developing a new play on clay and Indian dance and is writing a new, cross-national piece on the legend and myth of Europe.

Her work for film includes working in New York as a story researcher for a three-part television series for PBS (2015-2016) and composing the lyrics for the films Avanti (Abuelita Productions, 2015) and Do You Want to Try It Again? (Roundhouse, 2014). In 2017, she was chosen as a script judge for the Papatango New Writing Prize (Southwark Playhouse, London), and she has worked as a dramaturg on new plays at the Finborough and the Arcola theatres in London.

She was educated at the University of Oxford, Columbia University and the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and is currently working on a Ph.D on dramaturgy and political philosophy.

LIU XinglinSet Designer

LIU Xinglin

LIU Xinglin is Professor of the Central Academy of Drama and Vice President of China Stage Art Academy.

His primary stage design works include as follows: Drama Wilderness, Sound of Wind and Brothers; symphonic drama poem Uncle Tom’s Cabin; small-theatre drama Love Drill and Love Ants; children’s drama Young Pioneers; opera The Ballad of Canal, The Chinese Orphan, Song of Youth; dance drama Sister Drum; Peking Opera symphonic drama poem MEI Lanfang; Huai Opera Maling Path; Cantonese Opera Lingdingyang Estuary; Huangmei Opera Jade of He Family; Shaoxing Opera LU You and TANG Wan; Kunqu Opera Dream of Red Mansions and The Follow-up Story of Pipa; Fujian Opera The Story of Red Skirt; Wuxi Opera The Moon Over a Fountain; Guangxi Opera Confucians Return to his Native Place; Pingju Opera Widow Ma Runs a Shop; Shanxi Opera Raise the Red Lantern; lantern song and dance drama Rippling Brook; musical drama HUA Mulan; dance series China’s Top Ten Classical Music Works. Soul of the Chinese Nation and Marching toward a New Century were presented at Opening Ceremony of 1995 and 1997 China International Fashion Fair, respectively. City was presented at Opening Ceremony of 2000 Nanjing International Fashion Festival.

He is winner of Outstanding Stage Design Award of the First Chinese Opera Festival, Grand Prix of the Second Chinese Stage Art Exhibition, Golden Lion Award of the Third Chinese Drama Appraisal, Outstanding Stage Design Award of the Third China Peking Opera Festival, 2001 and 2003 China Stage Art Academy Award, Outstanding Stage Art Design Award of 2004 Stage Art Symposium & Choreography Exhibition, Gold Prize of WSD2009 and Best Finalists of WSD2013, etc. Shaoxing Opera LU You and TANG Wan, children's drama Young Pioneers, Guangxi Opera Confucians Return to his Native Place and Kunqu Opera Dream of Red Mansions were selected as annual repertoires of National Stage Art Masterpiece Project in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2012, respectively.

ZHAO TongCostume Designer

ZHAO Tong

ZHAO Tong is a costume designer, who graduated from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a Master’s degree in space studies, from the London College of Fashion with a Master’s degree in women’s wear design and from Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University with a Bachelor’s degree in fashion design.

Her theatrical works include The Monk and The Lotus (London Grimeborn Opera Festival, Tête-à-tête Opera Festival), The Dry Room (at the World Stage Design 2017), The Ordinary Love (London Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio), Lattice - Flower Fairy (Shandong Provincial Capital Culture and Art Centre Grand Theatre), Anna in the Tropics (Drum Tower West Theatre), Sinking Body (London Lion & Unicorn Theatre), and The Thunderstorm (Drum Tower West Theatre).

Her fashion designs were showcased at the “Reach and Touch” Contemporary Chinese Fashion Creative Art Exhibition 2010 and her works, as well as an exclusive interview with her, were published in U+ Mag (Issue 105), CAKE (Issue 14) and VISION (Sept., 2014).

The Hexagon Collective Art Studio founded by her designed and produced the opening performance at the 150^th-anniversary Art Show held by Harper’s Bazaar, and the show performances at the Paris Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week.

WANG YabinMovement Director/Choreographer

WANG Yabin

Dancer (choreographer/producer) WANG Yabin is a Chinese first class actress, dancer at the Youth Dance Company of Beijing Dance Academy, and founder and artistic director of Yabin Dance Studio. She has won gold awards in all domestic dance competitions hosted by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the CPC and Ministry of Culture. She has cooperated with nearly 100 top artists at home and abroad in creating and producing the brand “Yabin and her Friends” as a leading performer, choreographer and producer. The series has been chosen as a highly recommended foreign exchange programme and original dance by the Ministry of Culture. Works The Growth, Qingyi and Three Dreams have toured many countries (Belgium, Germany, Britain, Italy, France, Holland and Israel) and won high praise from local media. She was the first Chinese choreographer to create dances for the English National Ballet and American Dance Festival at their invitation and honoured as “one of the most important dancers in Asia” by Knack Focus; The Guardian spoke highly of her, “Her works reveal human desires in an implicit way”; The Times: “Among all dancers, WANG Yabin is undoubtedly an outstanding master soul, elegant and full of strength!”. In 2017, the English National Ballet won the world-famous stage art Oliver award “Outstanding Achievement Award for Dance” for its creations She Said and Giselle.

Barry GanbergComposer/Music Director

Barry Ganberg

Barry Ganberg was born in New York City and graduated from City University of New York with degrees in Music and Psychology.

He further studied music and composition with Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Corigliano, and voice with Sylvia Friedrich who drew upon the vocal techniques that helped to develop and sustain the voice of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso.

Barry moved to England in 1987 establishing himself as a composer, multi-instrumental performer and vocalist, specialising in work with dance and theatre. A number of years later, he was appointed as Head of Music for Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance whose affiliated company Rambert, is the National Dance Company of Britain.

Since then, he has composed and performed widely throughout the world with a plethora of dance/theatre companies and a variety of artistic projects during the course of his long and varied career. During this time, he developed and refined his ability to improvise and devise work informed by the rich and diverse cultures that he has explored.

He has been to Ethiopia to work on the “Street Dreams” project with young people living and working on the streets of Addis Ababa. This was a developmental project offering long term vocational training through the arts (music, dance, film making) and helping to empower the community.

He has been to Senegal with Janti Bi - helping to develop the first International Centre for Traditional and Contemporary African dance, “L’Ecole de Sable” in Toubab Dialaw near Dakar. It’s a cross-cultural music and dance collaboration encompassing over 30 African nations.

He has also been to Peru, on a project atop the mountains of Lima with a project called “La Danza de la Esperanza” – (“The Dance of Hope”), helping to engage and empower marginalized young people through the power of theatre, dance and music.

Further theatrical and dance related projects have led Barry around the world to countries such as USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, North Vietnam, South Korea, Lithuania, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Holland and Ireland.

Barry has also for many years been Musical Director for Moving Visions Dance Theatre. This company has specialized in touring productions exploring philosophical and theological themes, to many of England’s great Cathedrals including the historical landmarks of St. Pauls Cathedral and Yorkminster Cathedral.

Some of his other recent highlights include: Composition for “Clay Connections”, a new work of clay, dance, music and theatre, which was conceived by Vidya Thirunarayan and directed by Tim Supple (2018); choreographic Producer for recording artist Marc Almond’s Embers Official Video, which was released in December (2017); singing with the legendry South African Ladysmith Black Mambazo (2016); composition and performance of the award-winning documentary film The Gospel of Ross Mckim (Raindance, Hollywood and Nice Film Festivals),

Feature Documentary Award Winning Film at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards, USA (2016); The vocal translation, realization, teaching and coaching of Christopher Bruce’s Some Sort of Island Dance (2015); the composition and performance of Robert Cohan’s re- staged iconic choreographic work Class (2014).

“The kind invitation by the NCPA offering me the opportunity to create the music for The Tempest in China has led to a most wonderful experience that I will always cherish. I have been thrilled to work with the hugely talented group of actors, musicians and team of creative collaborators in a country, which is steeped in a deeply rich and beautiful artistic tradition.” Barry Ganberg

TAN HuaLighting Designer

TAN Hua

TAN Hua graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a Master’s degree in lighting design and from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a Master’s degree in stage art.

His lighting design works include The Red Rose and White Rose, Wild Whirlwind, Breathing, Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street, Someone To Talk To, and Flowers, as well as dance drama The Seasons, which won gold award as the dance poem at the 8^th Chinese Dance “Lotus Award”. Drama Una Donna Sola won the lighting design award from the Shanghai Institute of Stage Design; musical The White-headed Black Langur won lighting design award in the Guangxi Provincial Drama Competition; dance drama The Savage Land won best lighting design award at the 5^th Chinese Dance Lotus Award.

Stage design works include The Gibbon’s Four Howls - The Dream in Cuixiang (China Kunqu Opera Festival), Peking Opera-Kunqu Opera River Crossing In The Spring (Hong Kong Little Theatre Festival), as well as drama Bound Feet Blues (Tristan Bates Theatre).

ZHOU Ziyu, LIU FengshuoSound Designers

ZHOU Ziyu, LIU Fengshuo

ZHOU Ziyu and LIU Fengshuo work mainly on music composition, sound design, sound production and audio mixing for films and dramas. Since 2009, they have worked as a team and composed stage plays, as well as film and TV music and sounds.

Their main works include dramas Song of Light and Shadow 2010, Club Of A Perfect Match, Everybody Is Sick, Soul of Hongyan, The Courtyard, Roco Kingdom, Devil and Angel, JIN Guizi’s Castle - An Adventure To The Secret World, My Poor Marat, and Grandiose All Life Being; musicals Wood Turning and Twelfth Night; films Folk Songs Singing, China Affair, The Breakup Guru, The Boundary, Lost In Dark, The Most Beautiful Class, Some Like It Hot, Lengends of the Three Kingdomes - Illusion, and Cold War II Trailers.

ZHA WenyuanRevival Stage Director

ZHA Wenyuan

ZHA Wenyuan, a young director, graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a PhD in directing.

She took part in the production of the NCPA dramas Hamlet (assistant director), King Lear (script holder), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (revival director). Her works directed by herself include My Poor Marat, Grandiose All Life Being, Wood Turning, Yearning for Spring, Twelfth Night, Great Hot Pot and Waiting for Godot.

In 2017, she attended the China Shanghai International Arts Festival and directed original play Great Hot Pot; in the same year, the Twelfth Night directed by her was invited to the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, gaining wide attention. Later, the Twelfth Night was picked by the NCPA for an event attended by young directors and was performed at the Shenzhen Poly Theatre, kicking off The 1^st Shenzhen Drama Show Case.

Waiting for Godot, directed by her in 2018, was taken to the Asian Theatre Schools Festival held by ATEC in South Korea on behalf of The Central Academy of Drama and won an excellence award.

Artist

PU Cunxinas Prospero

PU Cunxin

PU Cunxin has starred in NCPA Drama King Lear. is a Chinese first-class actor, Vice Chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Chairman of China Theatre Association, Vice President of Beijing People's Art Theatre, Art Director of NCPA Drama Ensemble and member of the CPPCC. He is a seasoned actor in theatre, film and television performing arts for many years and has starred in scores of dramas, films and TV series and many times a winner of awards at home and abroad. His representative works include: dramas Hamlet, Thunderstorm, Coriolanus, Uncle Vanya, RUAN Lingyu, LI Bai, Teahouse, Sons of Heaven; TV series Police Officer, See Without Looking, Journey to Glory, and film Shower.

He has won many honours and awards, including Best Actor at the 2^nd China Drama Golden Lion Award, Wenhua Award, Audience Award at the 7^th Beijing College Student Film Festival, Audience Award at the 17^th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival, Excellent Actor at the 11^th Huabiao Awards, Best Actor at the 13^th Beijing College Student Film Festival, and Best Supporting Actor at the 12^th Chinese Film Media Awards.

LI Xiaomengas Miranda

DONG Wenliangas Ariel

WANG Haoweias Caliban

ZHAO Lingas Alonso

CAI Hongxiangas Gonzalo

CHEN Xiwenas Ferdinand

FENG Yangas Antonio

WANG Qianyuas Sebastian

LI Xichangas Adrian

LI Xichang

YANG Qias Francisco

WU Songas Stephano

YU Mengchaoas Trinculo

LIU Wenyias Captain

FU Pengxuas Boatswain

GUO Shuojieas Spirit/Sailor

LIU Beibeias Spirit/Sailor

LIU Xiaowenas Spirit/Sailor

XU ZixuanSpirit/Sailor

YAO Ruikunas Spirit/Sailor

DING Jiayias Spirit/Sailor

LIU Ningas Spirit/Sailor

LIU Yixuanas Spirit/Sailor

Refayilias Spirit/Sailor

WANG Yuas Spirit/Sailor

TONG Zhigangas Musician

MA Yuanas Musician
Note

Box officeNorth Gate of NCPA, No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, China

Tickets collection hours9:30-19:30 (CST) on performance day
9:30-18:00 (CST) for days without performance

Booking line+86 10 6655 0000

Booking hours9:30-18:00 (CST) Monday to Friday

Seating Chart

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So Kwok Wan

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LIU Xinglin

ZHAO Tong

WANG Yabin

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ZHA Wenyuan

PU Cunxin

LI Xichang

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GENRE OperaConcertDance & BalletTheatre Chinese Traditional Opera

Festivals & Series* NCPA Dance Festival 2024* NCPA Pure Classical 2024* NCPA International Theatre Festival 2024* NCPA Piano Virtuosos 2024* Charm of China—Maestros of Chinese Traditional Music

Box Office HoursPerformance Days 9:30 AM -19:30 PMGap Days 9:30 AM -18:00 PM Tickets Info8610-66550000

Productions Repertoire Films Videos Podcast

Resident Companies China NCPA Orchestra China NCPA Chorus NCPA Resident Singers NCPA Drama Ensemble

Explore NCPA Buildings Exhibitions

Visit Info Opening Hours Guided Tours Services Getting Here

Dine&Shop Western Cuisine NCPA Café Arts Gifts

THE NCPATHE NCPA

So Kwok Wan

Tim Supple

Katie Ebner-Landy

LIU Xinglin

ZHAO Tong

WANG Yabin

Barry Ganberg

TAN Hua

ZHOU Ziyu, LIU Fengshuo

ZHA Wenyuan

PU Cunxin

LI Xichang

CALENDAR
Full Calendar
Full Calendar

GENRE
Opera Concert Dance & Ballet Theatre
Chinese Traditional Opera

Festivals & Series* NCPA Dance Festival 2024 * NCPA Pure Classical 2024 * NCPA International Theatre Festival 2024 * NCPA Piano Virtuosos 2024 * Charm of China—Maestros of Chinese Traditional Music

Box Office Hours
Performance Days 9:30 AM -19:30 PM
Gap Days 9:30 AM -18:00 PM
Tickets Info
8610-66550000

Productions
Repertoire Films Videos Podcast

Resident Companies
China NCPA Orchestra China NCPA Chorus
NCPA Resident Singers NCPA Drama Ensemble

THE NCPA THE NCPA