The Tempest 16

Shakespeare wrote his last play, The Tempest, at the age of 47. It has been one of the most popular plays in theatre history, and also one of the Shakespeare’s most frequently performed plays. Yet it requires constant decryption, as it is filled with riddles and symbols, and every age and director try to reinterpret its characters and ideas. Renowned Polish director Andrzej Bubień, who recently made his debut at the National Theatre directing Gombrowicz’s Operetta, expressly strives for a more profound understanding and a more complex presentation of the great classics. He says about The Tempest, “What does the world of magic and miracles mean to us today? Today, the world of magic is virtual reality. The space where everything is possible and permitted, and where remembrance becomes the weapon of manipulation. Our world today erases true memories and turns remembrance into a tool for creating a new reality. Prospero's revenge for his exile and fall from power becomes a mind game: from here on, any manipulation is permitted, and manipulated memories can be used in the struggle for a new and better world. Shakespeare's The Tempest presents a diagnosis of the disintegration of a civilisation based on harmony, love, and humanity’s renaissance ideals. It is a grim warning to the world that soon true, original, genuine values ​​will be indistinguishable from fake, cheap gimmickry and lies. This play is about outrageous ingratitude, cunning and violence, and conveys important ideas about the role of art and the artist in today's world. Miracles are far from being synonymous with humanity. A human being can remain human without magical powers. On the other hand, a human with magical powers but devoid of human qualities cannot be regarded unambiguously as a member of the Human Race. We exist as long as our memory survives. But it’s terrible when we start to manipulate memories without restraint.”