The Tempest is Shakespeare’s comedy about a major act of betrayal, ill treatment, the development of magic arts and a plot of revenge. Our 2023 production features Prospero played as a woman, by Alex Kingston.

Twelve years ago, Prospero was Duke of Milan. Being a lover of books, she withdrew more and more into her studies, leaving the management of the state to her brother Antonio. Eventually (with the help of Alonso, King of Naples, and Sebastian, the king’s sister) Antonio took the dukedom for himself. Prospero and her baby daughter Miranda were put to sea in a rotten boat and eventually landed on a distant island.

This island was once ruled by the witch Sycorax but is now inhabited only by her son, Caliban, and Ariel, a spirit. Since Prospero landed, she has ruled the island and its two inhabitants by using magic she learned from her studies. Her daughter Miranda has grown up seeing no human being other than her mother.

Using magic, Prospero discovers that her enemies (Antonio, Alonso and Sebastian) are sailing close to the island and sees an opportunity for revenge. She uses her powers to raise a storm which shipwrecks them. When the horrified Miranda questions this, her mother tells her the story of their arrival on the island and assures her that no real harm will come to the survivors.

The shipwrecked travellers wash up on the island and are immediately separated. At Prospero's bidding, the invisible Ariel leads them astray. Ariel leads Ferdinand, the King's son, to Prospero's cell, where he and Miranda fall instantly in love. A wary Prospero sets heavy tasks to test Ferdinand.

The King of Naples searches for his son, fearing him drowned. Sebastian, the king's sister, plots to kill him and seize the crown. The king’s drunken butler, Stephano, and jester, Trinculo, meet Caliban who persuades them to kill Prospero so they can rule the island. However, Ariel manages to make mischief between them and they are soon fighting among themselves.

Satisfied that Ferdinand has proved worthy of her daughter, Prospero presents the young couple with a wedding masque to bless their love. She is distracted from this, however, when she remembers Caliban's plot.

As Prospero's plan draws to a finish, she vows to abandon her magic. Ariel brings Alonso and his followers to Prospero's cell where she confronts her enemies as the duke of Milan and forgives them. Through the wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda, the rift between Naples and Milan is healed. Finally, Prospero grants Ariel her freedom and prepares to leave the island for Milan and her restored Dukedom.

This physical activity introduces the story through its themes and characters. It also allows students to tell a story using their physicality. (It is best suited to a hall or large, clear classroom but you could work in smaller spaces by dividing up the group so half can watch and swap over).

• Ask your students to walk around the space with energy and try and fill in any gaps they see, to balance the space. Suggest they are all walking on a raft on the sea and need to keep the space balanced between them to keep the raft from capsizing.
• Now ask them to FREEZE. Then call out a number and ask them to get into groups of the number. (With uneven numbers you can create different groups: 3s and a few 4s etc).
• Each time you do this, call out the name of something or someone from The Tempest and explain that they must create a frozen image or tableau of it, using every member of the group. Starter words could include: Mother & Child / Master & Servant / Monster / Rejection / Love
• Encourage them to create their images without talking and give them a countdown of 5 or 10 seconds to help.
• Once they get the hang of this, introduce more complex images. Eg:
  • A magical spirit trapped in a tree
  • Pollution
  • A group of shipwrecked sailors
  • An enchanted island
  • The Shipwreck
  • Forgiveness

Discuss this activity together. Was it easy to create the images with small groups or large groups? What were the challenges? Did the time constraints help? Do these images give any clues as to what this play is about?

This writing and performance activity explores the different strands of the story by allowing students to work in small groups, improvising and adapting text. (You will need: Resource A - Tempest News from the Resource materials at the end of this page).

• Organise your students into 6 groups and hand each pair one of the 6 news reports. (With smaller groups, you can hand each group more than one to work on).
• Ask your students to read through their news story within their groups so they are clear about what is being reported.
• Explain that they now have 10 minutes to decide how to present their news report to the rest of the group. Encourage them to use more than one reporter and feature a witness if needed but that every member of the group must be included.
• Challenge them to add more lines or information to the news report to make it more dramatic to build up their story from what they know about the play. Eg: sound effects, additional eyewitnesses.
• Remind them to decide if they are going to present from behind a news desk to camera or report live from a location or a mixture of both.
• Give the groups 5 more minutes to rehearse their news story and then organise your 6 groups in order around the room sitting down so that each group can stand when it is their turn and the rest of the groups can see their report.
• Encourage them to save the applause to the end once each group has delivered their report so the whole event is reported seamlessly.
• When the group report is finished, discuss the results together: is it easier to remember a story when they see it visually? Which bits were particularly challenging or fun to report and why? Which particular moments of the story stood out and why? Whose story do they think this is?

This physical activity encourages students to experience the magical island from two perspectives: those who ‘create it’ and know it well and the strangers who visit. It encourages them to explore a world of language and their senses. (You will need some clear floor space, pens and blank paper (A4 torn into 4 or 6 pieces), Resource B ‘Caliban’s Speech’ from the Resource Section at the end of this page). 

• Organise your students into pairs and hand out paper and pens.
• Invite a volunteer to read Caliban’s speech from Resource B and, as they listen, encourage the pairs to imagine their own magical island where they would set the story of The Tempest.
• Now ask them to think about what they would SEE if they were there. Invite them, in their pairs, to write these images down on separate scraps of paper. Eg: wildlife, small dwellings, waterfalls, items that have been washed up.
• Now ask them to consider what they can HEAR on their island and do the same. Follow this with SMELL, TOUCH & TASTE, until they have a small pile of paper with their descriptions on them. Encourage them to invent different areas of the Island with a different feel. Eg: no-go areas, beauty spots, places to get food etc.
• Invite your pairs to choose a space on the floor to arrange their papers into areas on their Island like a map.
• Now ask each pair to invite another pair to ‘visit’ their Island. Encourage the visitors to close their eyes and allow themselves to be led around the Island from paper area to paper area. Challenge the hosting pair to describe what they are seeing, hearing and smelling etc as they guide their visitors around.
• When the visit is complete, ask your pairs to swap and visit another magical Island.
• Discuss this sensory experience as a group. Which island areas stood out in particular and why? Did they include any details inspired by Caliban’s speech?

Activity Extension - Caliban and Colonialism

Following this activity, discuss Caliban's words at the start of his speech: 'This island is mine'. Discuss the following with your students and write down any key words and phrases: 

• What claim does he have to the island?
• What was it like for him to show Prospero and Miranda round his home?
• How does he feel now Prospero has taken over?
• How might the inhabitants of the island feel when the new shipwrecked strangers wash up? Angry? Frightened? Relieved?

Many productions of The Tempest use the character of Caliban to explore the subject of colonialism, particularly in island cultures. As a group, look over the key words and phrases written down and discuss: 

• What does the word colonialism mean to them?
• How important is Caliban's voice in a play written by a man who lived 400 years ago?
• What modern examples are there of people living today with similar feelings and experiences?
• Can theatre help to address these subjects? If so, why and how can it be successful? 

“Cutting the umbilical cord is a very different relationship between mother and daughter. There’s a guilt that I haven’t given Miranda the life she should have had. When she was a baby, Prospero was off in the library.”

- Alex Kingston, playing Prospero, RSC The Tempest 2023

This physical activity, in 2 parts, examines the changing relationship between Prospero and Miranda and allows students to explore both the love and tensions between them.

Part A) Prospero & Miranda

(You will need copies of Resource C: ‘Mother & Daughter’ from the Resource Section at the end of this page)

• Discuss the relationship between our female Prospero and Miranda. Consider the following:
  • What ordinary stresses exist between mothers and daughters?
  • What have Prospero & Miranda been through together so far?
  • How much have they relied on each other’s company on the island?
  • Why might Prospero be overly-protective towards Miranda?
• Organise your students into pairs and hand out copies of Appendix C.
• Explain that the pairs now have 7 minutes to create 4 images to represent each stage of Prospero and Miranda’s relationship throughout the play. Encourage them to make their images as detailed as possible and to speak the lines aloud as they create them.
• Now give them 5 more minutes to invent a way to change from one image to the other. Challenge them to make these changes part of the performance, allowing them to flow and tell more of the story as they speak the lines that go with them.
• Invite each pair to show their mother-daughter relationship and discuss the results: What journey does Prospero go on with Miranda? Are there any moments that stand out and why? What kind of relationship is this? Does it improve or get worse? Does the fact that Prospero uses magic change the dynamics of the relationship?

PART B) ADDING ARIEL

“A female Ariel creates another daughter for Prospero, one that Miranda can’t see. We explored this tension in improvisations. When Ariel resists Prospero in the beginning, it’s like when you grow up and suddenly see your parents as people. What happens when a parent lets you down?”

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, RSC ‘The Tempest’, 2023

This activity follows straight on from Part A and uses improvisation to explore the character of Ariel in relation to Prospero and Miranda.

• Discuss the character of Ariel in The Tempest. What do we know about her? How does she feel about Prospero and Miranda? Whose side might Ariel be on thoughout the play and does this change?
• Organise your students into groups of 3 and ask them to cast themselves as Prospero, Miranda and Ariel (who is invisible to Miranda).
• Ask the groups to choose ONE of the 4 stages from the previous activity and expand this into a short improvisation, including Ariel. Challenge them to think about what role Ariel plays in their scene. Do they calm the situation down or make it worse? By accident or deliberately?
• Encourage the groups to concentrate on Ariel’s invisibility. Might this frustrate, scare or amuse Miranda? How would it make Prospero feel? How does Miranda feel about Ariel and vice-versa?
• Invite groups to share their work, improvising the scenes to an audience. Discuss the results: Who do we most sympathise with? Is there room for comedy in these encounters?

Extension Discussion:

“The amount of amazing women we have in this show gives a different lens to the production. Looking at Prospero as a mother rings so true because of the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. The mother-daughter relationship isn’t always nice, they do confront each other but ultimately there’s is such an underlying core of care which has become the core of our production.”

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director The Tempest 2023.

In our 2023 production, not only is Prospero played by a woman but so are Gonzalo, Sebastian Trinculo, Ariel, the goddesses and many of the ship’s crew. More than half of the creatives are female including the director and there is an all-female stage management crew.

• Discuss with your group why these decisions might have been made and what difference it makes to this production?
• What affect does seeing women playing characters who have been written as male and usually played by men have on an audience?

We decided that Caliban’s formative time was spent alone, and Prospero arrived when he was 10 or 11. They live together in joy until one day this incident happens. We see trauma on 3 sides around an attempted assault: the potential victim, a perpetrator who didn’t know he was a perpetrator because he hasn’t been told what that is, and a parent who hasn’t necessarily informed their children properly.”

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, The Tempest, 2023

This performance activity in 2 parts explores what it feels like for Caliban to be thrown out of Prospero’s Island Family. It allows students to examine how responsible he and Prospero both are for his actions. (You will need: Resource E: Act 1 Scene 2, Caliban extract from the end of this page. There is a simpler cut for Primary students. )

* Note for Primary Teachers: You may wish to adjust the information you give regarding the reason Caliban is banished by saying that he insulted or scared Miranda in some way.

Part A) SWAPPING SKILLS

• Organise your students into a circle and hand out copies of Resource E. Ask them to read the scene out loud, taking a line each in turn.
• Discuss this scene, asking what clues Shakespeare gives us about the 3 characters and their relationship so far.
• Explain that you are now going to explore the early days of this relationship. Organise your students into groups of 3 (or 4) and ask for one volunteer in each group to play Caliban. The others can be Prospero and Miranda (and Ariel in the groups of 4)
• Explain that Prospero and Miranda have just come to the Island and Caliban is going to teach them ONE simple thing. Eg: how to catch fish, how to collect fresh water, how to make a shell necklace. Give them 5 minutes to improvise this scene between them.
• Now ask your groups to swap over so Prospero and Miranda teach Caliban to do ONE thing: Eg: How to write his name, walk like a gentleman, use cutlery (they can mime this). Again, give them 5 minutes to explore this.
• Invite a few groups to share their improvisations and discuss the experience as a group. How did it feel to be taught these things? Was it hard or easy to find the patience to learn / teach?  

PART B) PAPER FLOWERS

(You will need: an artificial or paper flower (or an equivalent gift) & Appendix D ‘Caliban Insults’ from the Resource Section at the end of this pack.)

• Explain that there has been a serious moment on the Island and Caliban has been banished by Prospero for his behaviour towards Miranda. He is no longer a part of the family. (Again, you can adjust what this ‘moment’ or incident is with your students appropriately. There is an additional discussion activity for older students below).
• Invite three volunteers to play Miranda, Caliban and Prospero and position them in the room so that Prospero is standing between the other two.
• Give the paper flower to Caliban and explain that his objective in the game is to give the flower to Miranda as an apology for his actions.
• Give your Prospero the list of ‘Calban Insults’ and explain that it is their job to prevent Caliban from handing over his flower at all costs by being a human shield to Miranda and using these words whenever necessary.
• Explain that Caliban cannot touch Prospero or Miranda in any way, unless Miranda holds her hand out for the flower.
• Encourage your Caliban to use any other means to persuade Prospero and Miranda to accept the flower. Encourage the watching students to give Caliban tips by holding up their hand. Eg: he could beg, explain his behaviour, appeal to Miranda, accuse Prospero of not teaching him right and wrong.
• After a few minutes of playing, or if your Caliban has not been able to hand Miranda the flower, swap teams.
• Discuss the results with the group. How did the Calibans feel to be rejected? How did the Mirandas feel towards Prospero during this? How difficult was it for the Prosperos to protect Miranda?

Further Discussion Topic for students:

* Note: As this is an age-sensitive topic, you may wish to word Shakespeare’s implied meaning of Caliban’s ‘violation’ of Miranda differently or confront it directly with your students.

• Discuss the following information with your students:
  • In our 2023 production, Prospero is played by a woman who lands on the island alone with her baby daughter Miranda.
  • Caliban, who is motherless after the death of Sycorax the witch, has grown up alone and is still very much a child when Prospero arrives.
  • Caliban shows Prospero around the island and grows up alongside Miranda in Prospero’s ‘cell’, becoming part of the Island Family, with Ariel.
• Ask the group about the importance of these relationships. What effect has the arrival of this mother and child had on Caliban?
• Now discuss the following information with your group:
  • At some point before the play starts, Caliban attempted to ‘violate’ Miranda’s ‘honour’. As a result, Prospero has thrown him out of her cell, creating resentment and bitterness on both sides.
  • Invite your students to discuss: How much does Caliban know about right and wrong? How responsible is he if he hasn’t been told certain things? Can we understand his bitterness and hatred of Prospero for being cast out and forced to work without understanding why? Does this excuse his actions later in the play?

This activity in two parts explores the shipwreck and the tempest both from a physical and emotional perspective, allowing students to imagine the chaos of the wreck itself and the effect it has on those involved.

Part A)    THE WRECK

(This physical activity will need: a decent sized floor space, Resource F: ‘Wreck”’ torn into separate lines & ‘Ariel’s Speech’ from the resource section at the end of this page. You may wish to use percussive instruments if you have them available).

• Gather your students together and explain that they are going to create the shipwreck from The Tempest as a whole group.
• Ask for a volunteer to play Ariel and hand them the speech from the Resource F.
• Now ask your students to name any parts of a ship. Encourage them to think about the construction first. Eg: deck, mast, sails, anchor, etc. As each student makes their suggestion, invite them to stand and become that part of the ship in the space, so slowly they begin to ‘build’ the ship together.
• Now ask for more detailed things they might be on board the ship, including passengers and crew. Eg: captain, drunken sailors, cannons, barrels of wine, treasure, the king. Again, as each suggestion is made, invite the volunteer to create/become the thing they suggested.
• Once every member of the group is in position, hand out the lines of text to 10 students. Explain that the rest of the group are going to create the sounds of the Tempest itself. Eg: the wailing wind, the roaring and crashing waves, torrential rain. (With smaller groups, use fewer lines and use any percussive instruments to help with this).
• Explain that you are going to invite Ariel to board the ship to begin her speech quietly. As Ariel does this, the sounds of the Tempest will begin and get louder and louder.
• Add that as Ariel’s speech is happening, you will point at the people with lines who will shout their lines into the rising Tempest. Explain that when Ariel is finished, she will step off the ship as it breaks apart and sinks into the waves. (This may need a rehearsal first. Remind everyone to do this as safely as possible, being careful of each other and the space).
• Invite Ariel to begin, When the ship is wrecked, gather your survivors together and discuss: How do they feel knowing that Ariel caused this chaos on behalf of Prospero? What are their feelings towards Prospero? Why has she used her powers to cause this disaster and can we forgive her?

Part B) SHIPWRECK DIARIES

This writing activity follows on straight from Part A. (You will need: Resource F - Shipwreck Diaries from the Resource materials at the end of this page, paper & pens.)

• Ask each student to sit with paper and pens and give everyone ONE character from the list in Resource F.
• Explain that they will have 5 minutes to write a paragraph describing their experience of the shipwreck as if they were this character. Encourage them to concentrate on what they saw and heard as well as how they felt.
• For inspiration, suggest that they imagine they are writing an account of their Tempest experience to tell their children or the newspaper or to publish in a book of their life story.
• Challenge them to choose language that might suit their character, using the line of text for inspiration (the quote next to their character’s name).
• Invite students to read out their paragraphs to the group and discuss the following: What are their first thoughts when they wash up on the island? How will they feel when they discover the tempest was caused by Prospero in revenge?

“Theatre cannot solve the climate crisis alone, but it can play an urgent role in addressing it. Theatre can question and challenge, provoke, entertain and surprise. It can reflect the preoccupations of generations facing a time of dizzying, frightening change. But to do that, theatre itself needs to change…'

- Theatre Green Book.

“We explored object manipulation with what we found, such as - how can this plastic bag become a bird? We have lifejackets being babies, big bottles as dog heads. You can have so much fun picking up whatever is in front of you and going ‘how can I make this inanimate object something that eats and breathes and sleeps?’”

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, The Tempest 2023

This creative activity in 3 parts encourages students to consider the effect of humanity on our environment and their role within that by bringing their found objects to life. (You will need: pieces of blank paper & coloured pens for part A. For part C, see below.)

* Some time before this activity, give your students the task of collecting some found objects of their own. These could be clothes they no longer want, items of rubbish or recycling, anything washed up on a beach if they are near to the coast. Ask them to wash these items carefully before bringing them in preparation for part C of this activity.

A)  PAPER FRIEND

• Ask your students to form pairs and hand each pair a blank piece of paper and some coloured pens.
• Explain that they now have ten minutes to explore the life of this paper by taking turns to alter it in some way. They must not tell each other what they are about to do when it is their turn, they must just change the paper. Eg: moving it, folding, tearing, scrunching, drawing or writing on it.
• Add that they must make at least 10 changes to the paper between them. Encourage them to look out for a moment when the paper might develop its own ‘life’. Is there a point when it seems to have a personality or character?
• When each pair has transformed their paper, invite the pairs to share their experience with the group: Did their transformations create a story of any kind? If so, what kind of story was it - a happy, sad, funny one? Did their paper develop a personality? If so, at what point did it come to life? Did anyone draw a face on the page and is this always necessary to bring the paper to life?
• Discuss the effect of giving found objects a life of their own. Why do we sometimes do this? For company? To give the items a special relevance? Because they just look a certain way?

B) CALIBAN’S CAVE

This visualisation activity explores the world of Caliban and what he takes naturally from the island to survive. (You will need: Resource B ‘Caliban’s Speech’ from the Resource section at the end of this page, paper and pens).

• Invite your students to find a space in the room of their own and to lie down and close their eyes. Explain that they are going to imagine they are Caliban, the son of Sycorax the witch, in his cave on the island before Prospero or anyone else arrived.
• Explain that you are going to read Caliban’s speech as they listen, eyes closed.
• When you have read the speech, ask them to imagine what their Caliban looks like. Have they seen their reflection in a pool somewhere? How do they move? Invite them to stretch on the ground where they lie and feel the differences in their body, their lips, their hands and feet.
• Ask them to imagine how they are dressed. Has their Caliban made clothes out of things found on the island? Have they put things in their hair or drawn on their skin? (As you ask these questions, place a pen and paper next to every sleeping Caliban.)
• Now ask them to imagine the cave they are in. What has Caliban done to make this cave a home? Is it cold and muddy or sandy? What can they smell? Is there a fire? Is it stocked with fish and berries to eat? Have they decorated it with shells, seaweed, cave paintings? Why did he choose this particular place to live?
• Explain that it is morning and in a moment, they are going to open their eyes and go and explore the shoreline to see if anything has washed up overnight. How will they prepare for this? Will they take weapons? Will they wash or eat first? Ask your Calibans to slowly wake and stretch and open their eyes.
• Invite your Calibans to use the pen and paper next to them to draw themselves, their cave and everything they just imagined.
• Ask your Calibans to share their drawings and explain what their caves look like. What things from the island did they use? Did they make a fire? What do they carry water and food in? What materials did they use to dress or decorate themselves? Is there anything they don’t have but really need?

• Extension Activity:

• Ask your students to work in groups or individually to make 3D models of Caliban’s cave using found objects. Eg: From shoe or packing boxes, featuring things he has made or found on the beach.
• Discuss the different caves created. Are they peaceful? A place of protection? Has anyone boobytrapped their cave against intruders? What might these caves say about what Caliban is like, what he fears and how he sees his island?

C) PROSPERO’S CELL

“We had piles and piles of what looked like rubbish and crazy stuff. Our director would say ‘Ok, let’s go make Prospero’s Cell!’ And so we’d make it out of rubbish. And that’s what we did for every single scene. Not only were we being very resourceful but we were using our imaginations in a way we wouldn’t if we had a pristine set and props already selected."

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, The Tempest 2023

(You will need: the found objects your students have collected earlier, an area of clear floor space.)

• Gather your found objects in the centre of the space and invite your students to examine them closely. (With a large number, divide them into smaller groups.) Encourage them to get tactile with the objects. Explore how they feel in their hands, how strong/adaptable they are.
• Once they have examined the objects, ask them to return to the circle and volunteer their ideas. Which items might be useful on a desert island and why?
• Divide your students into groups of 3 or 4 and divide the objects between the groups. Explain that they have 20 minutes to create something useful out of these objects for Prospero’s Cell which they will all create together in the centre of the space.
• Encourage the groups to think about what Prospero and Miranda might need. Eg: a place to sleep, wash or eat, somewhere for Prospero to read her books and practise magic, a shelter from the rain, a border to mark out the cell, things to make it homely?
• As your students work together to create Prospero’s Cell, encourage them to stay adaptable. If another group is solving the same problem, can they use their objects for something else? Or bring their objects together?
• When the time is up, have a look at the Cell they’ve created. Were there any surprisingly useful found objects and why? Was there anything they couldn’t find a use for? Could this be a home for 12 years (the time Prospero and Miranda have spent on the island)? How would they feel living there?

Extension Discussion - A Reflection on our Environment

Ask your students to sit around the Cell they've created and discuss the following: 

• Who might live like this in the world now? Why might this be?
• What do they think are the most important things in the Cell? Which items might become the most valuable and why?
• What can they personally not live without? What if they had to?

'The Climate Crisis' is a big theme in our production. Discuss the following questions: 

• Why is it important to tackle this subject now?
• In which ways can The Tempest explore the impact we have on the natural world?
• Can theatre make a difference by embracing these big themes? If so, how?
• How can we inspire each other to make a positive change? What small difference can we make?

“Not only do we have a female Prospero in our production, we have a female Sebastian and Gonzalo. In a world usually full of men, we show the power hungry side of women as well. Power is corruptible and magic is corruptible and sometimes all you need is a little push"

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, The Tempest 2023

These 3 activities allow students to explore the simple effects of power and powerlessness. A and B are physical activities, and C is a writing and discussion activity. (For C, you will need: large piece of paper and coloured pens - red, black, green & blue if possible).

A)  GO, STOP!

• Organise your students into pairs in a long line across one side of the room so they have a lot of space in front of them (with larger groups, do this in batches)
• Ask them to decide who is A and who is B and ask the A’s to stand behind the B’s.
• Explain that when the A’s shout ‘Go!’, the B’s are to try to run to the other side of the room. The only way the A’s can stop them is by touching them on the shoulder but the A’s cannot move their feet.
• When they have done this a few times, ask them to swap round so the A’s are trying to escape.
• Discuss the results: Did anyone find ways to cheat? Was the game impossible? How did it feel to be constantly caught? How did it then feel to swap roles? 

B) FOLLOW THE HAND

• Ask the pairs to face each other and explain that A is going to try and lead B in some simple movement by placing their palm in front of B’s face. B must keep their face as close to the palm as possible as A moves them around.
• Encourage the pairs to keep this movement small and simple at first and then to make it more complex. Can they take their partner on a journey across the room?
• After a few minutes of this, swap around so the B’s are leading.
• As a group, discuss the following: How did it feel to lead? Was anyone tempted to make it deliberately difficult to follow? Was it fun or frustrating to follow and why?

C) POWER STRUGGLES

This writing and discussion based activity leads directly on from A and B above. It encourages the students to work together in processing what they know about The Tempest characters in terms of power. (You will need: large piece of paper and coloured pens - red, black, green & blue if possible).

• Organise your students into larger groups of 4 or 5 and hand out paper and pens. Ask them to discuss which characters in The Tempest have the lead/follow relationship they just explored. Eg: Caliban and Prospero? Ariel and Prospero? Prospero and Miranda? Prospero and Ferdinand? Ferdinand and Miranda? Ask them to write down these relationships on the paper with a black pen and underline the character in control.
• Now ask the groups to consider Ariel and Caliban. Do they gain or lose power when they meet the shipwrecked characters? What is it like for a character who is forced to follow to suddenly get the chance to lead? How might it change their behaviour? Ask them to underline Ariel and Caliban’s names and list the names of those they control beneath.
• Ask the groups to decide which characters abuse their power in the play? Ask them to circle these names in RED. What damage does this do? Ask them to list this damage next to their name.
• Which characters in the play have no control whatsoever? Circle these names in blue. Do they want control or are they happy without it?
• Now ask your students to think about the island itself. If these characters never find peace or a way to live peacefully together, what damage might this abuse of power do to the land and creatures who live there? Ask them to make a list of this damage in GREEN. Eg: water supplies getting polluted, food sources over farmed, trees cut down, the development of harmful weapons, exploitation of magical beings.
• Come together as a whole group and share your findings. Which names are circled in red? Who is circled in blue? What is the role of these ‘blue’ characters in the play? Are they nicer characters or just weaker? What does this tell us about power and how people respond to getting and losing it?
• Discuss the very end of the play when Prospero gives up her magical powers and Ariel mends the boat so everyone can go home and Prospero sets Ariel free. Why does Prospero do this? What has changed for her now? What will happen to the island?

This performance activity encourages students to see how the chaos in The Tempest is created by the humans themselves, their fears, needs and abuse of power. It also allows them to explore the importance of listening and being listened to. (You will need: Resource G ‘Shipwreck Diaries’ from the end of this page).

• Ask your students to space out in the room so they have enough room to swing their arms without touching anyone else (with large group you may wish to do this is two halves). Hand each student ONE character from Resource G. 
• Explain that they have 5 minutes to come up with a series of movements or mime to accompany the line their character says (the quote is next to the character name). Add that they don’t need to know exactly what the lines means, they can interpret it using the character description and what they know of the story.
• Encourage them to say the line out loud as they create these movements so the words and actions go together. Challenge them to use any powerful words or words that stand out as inspiration.
• Now ask the students playing Prospero to come to the front of the group and invite the others to perform their sequence, repeating it all together for one minute as a Gallery of Chaos.
• When this is done, ask your Prosperos: what is it like to hear all those voices at once? Did any words and gestures stand out and why?
• Explain that the Prosperos are now going to visit the Gallery of Chaos. The performers will only perform their sequence when a Prospero stands before them. When they have done this, Prospero will then say ‘I see you’ and move on to someone else. 
• Discuss as a whole group: was it more comfortable performing all together? How did it feel to perform your sequence just for Prospero? Was it intrusive or did your character feel ‘seen’? How important is it for one voice to be listened to out of a whole group? 

‘The spirits and goddesses are where we really connect with nature.The spirits are trying to get all these people who are trashing the place without realising, off their island!’

- Thyrza Abrahams, Assistant Director, The Tempest 2023.

This physical performance activity is aimed at getting students to consider how Shakespeare creates a harmonious ending from his ‘Tempest’ through the healed relationships. (You will need: Resource H: ‘Healing Voices’ from the Resource section at the end of this page, pens, musical instruments if you have access to them.)

• As a group, examine the blue names from the Power Struggles activity above. These should be characters who did not have power or seek power in the play. Are they happy with these names? Are there any others they could add to this list? Eg: the goddesses (in our production - Earth, Sky & Rain)? Ferdinand? The sailors or Boatswain?
• Organise your students into 3 groups (for smaller groups, you can just choose one):
  1. The Goddesses, Earth, Sky and Rain: representing the island
  2. Ferdinand and Miranda: representing youth and hope
  3. The Sailors: representing duty and care
• Hand out the relevant text scraps from Resource H and distribute any musical instruments if you are using them.
• Explain that each group has 15 minutes to come up with a ritual to HEAL the island. Explain that this ritual must include a combination of the following:
  • Song or rhyme
  • A pattern of repeated gestures
  • Group dance
• Challenge your groups to alter the text or rewrite it completely if they wish to make the healing ritual their own.
• Encourage the groups to work together, using every member of the group and to appoint a director or choreographer to make sure all voices are heard and everyone knows the routine.
• After the time is up, give the groups 5 more minutes to rehearse their healing ritual for performance.
• Invite your groups to show their healing ritual. If you have extra time, invite one group to teach their ritual to everyone. 

Group Discussion:

• Discuss the results of this last activity as a whole group, asking the following questions:
  • How challenging was it to work as a group and listen to each other’s ideas?
  • In which ways were the rituals ‘healing’? Which things did they change or add and why?
  • Can they think of any examples of people performing such rituals in society in the past? Are there any modern equivalents?
  • How important are group rituals in society?
  • Do you think Shakespeare achieves a happyending for The Tempest in the enemies coming together and leaving the island? Who gets left out? What do we think happens on the island after Prospero leaves?

Activity Extension: The Rubbish Project

• If you have time and resources, organise a group clean up by contacting one of the many groups of local environmental volunteers.
• With older students, challenge them to organise their own beach or park clean up. With younger students, perhaps a park clean up or a litter tidy of your own school? (Be sure to follow healthy and safety guidelines).
• Challenge your students to collect any items they find for a group or individual art project. (These items will need to be cleaned and checked for safety purposes just like they were for our production).
• Invite your students to create their own ‘scenes of the environment’ from their collected finds. Eg:
  • A place they know and love in the future (a holiday destination, their garden)
  • A magical creature or spirit (such as Ariel trapped in a tree or being freed)
  • A map of their own magical island or dream place…

· Display these scenes as inspiration and a reminder of how we all have power for positive change.