Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest, recently opened at the Maynardville Open-Air Festival in Wynberg, Cape Town, continuing the tradition to stage an annual Shakespeare play in the outdoor theatre.
Propsera (Antoinette Kellermann) looks kindly on Ferdinand (Jefferson Lan) and Miranda (Jane de Wet). Image by Claude Barnado
It’s a project that started in 1956 when Dulcie Howes, Cecilia Sonnenberg, and Rene Ahrenson spearheaded the first performance in this venue and today the Maynardville experience is a season of works with a classical twist.
This year’s production of The Tempest resonates with that powerful founding female energy.
Directed by award-winning director, Sylvaine Strike, the play’s Propero becomes Prospera, played by Antoinette Kellermann – a casting choice Strike said had to do with her understanding of forgiveness (a defining theme of the play) as a feminine quality.
Her magnificent Caliban is none other than Albert Pretorius and Miranda is powerfully played by Jane de Wet, while the ethereal and mischievous Ariel is played by Daniel Lasker.
Other cast members include Jefferson Lan (Ferdinand), David Viviers (Antonio/Stephano), Brent Palmer (Alonso), Siya Mayola (Gonzalo/Boatswain), Tankiso Mamabolo (Sebastian/Trinculo) and the Spirits; Len-Barry Simons, Naoline Quinzin and Lungile Lallie.
The creative collaboration between Strike, set and costume designer, Niall Griffin, and composer, Wessel Odendaal, has meant that every element of the production was newly conceived, creatively reinvigorated, and focused on this specific work.
Shakespeare’s The Tempest will continue until 8 March 2025.
For more about the Maynardville Open-Air Festival, visit https://maynardville.co.za/
