Shakespeare?s forgotten rock ?n? roll masterpiece

Written and directed by Bob Carlton

Produced by Pola Jones

Whats it all about??

It all started with the Bubble Theatre Company. They sponsored by the local council to popularise Shakespeare. And what they decided to do was to put the play on in a tent and to combine it with rock'n'roll music.

The result is an eclectic mix of genres, styles and influences, loosely based on The Tempest. On curtain-up, audience members find themselves about about to take off in a spaceship -- on an interplanetary survey flight. Cast and audience are then drawn to the planet Deliria, where the ship crashes and we meet Prospero and his daughter, Ariel.

As Miranda in The Tempest falls in love with Ferdinand, so Forbidden Planet's Ariel falls in love with Captain Tempest. And the dallyings with Shakespeare don't stop here -- there's a riot of misquotes, from A Midsummer Night's Dream to Hamlet: "Captain, there's a beep on my scanner. Captain, there's another beep. Two beeps or not two beeps?"

The lyrics of many a rock'n'roll hit are woven neatly into the plot (there's no prize for guessing which Jerry Lee Lewis song accompanies the spaceship's encounter with a blazing asteroid belt). All the music is generated by the cast, 12 performers handling two drum kits, two trombones, three saxophones, four guitars, a keyboard ...

"Technically, it's a very complex show," says Abrahamse. "Most of the cast are on the stage all the time -- playing, providing backing harmonies, acting or singing. It's a 100 percent energy show -- that's what makes it work and what has helped it become such a cult hit.

"If you combined the musicality of Buddy Holly with the camp sci-fi of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, you'd get Forbidden Planet. It's an actor/musician-driven show, but it also has this tongue-in-cheek feel."

Start Page

Tour Dates

Important Safety Instructions

Your Crew will go through this procedure during the pre flight checks.

Polarity Reversal Procedure

As we will be cruising out into hyperspace, please observe all the necessary safety precautions, which shall be demonstrated by the crew before lift-off commences. In particular, the reverse polarity drill. Polarity reversal is a very dangerous procedure. However, in the unlikely event of us entering a polarity reversal situation, we ask you to follow this simple procedure.

Step 1
Place your hands in the air

Step 2
Place your hands on the Cranium

Step 3
Press in a downwards motion

Step 4
On the command "Polarity Reverses",
equalise your external equilibrium by exhaling thus - Phew!

Please remember this drill. It could save your life!

The Music

The music from the show is all Rock 'n' Roll and will have you hopping and a bopping in your seat and at the end, you'll be out your seat and clapping and cheering to the "encore".

The songs are:

TOUR DATES

  These numbers may not be totally accurate, as sometimes the names of the Theatre are slightly different to those listed!

Any comments or suggestions please e-mail me:   [email protected]

UPDATES: - Will follow up with some pictures from the show as soon as I can.