The Tempest was written by Shakespeare in 1610/11…and re-imagined by us in this production in 2016/17.

For Shakespeare’s Tempest with its themes of magic, love, betrayal, trust, forgiveness and conquest, we have taken its Island setting and placed it in Brighton’s Tarner Park at Tarner Tower and within the imaginings of Edwin Tarner, a Brighton merchant of the early 1800’s who – as local legend tells – built the Tower as a view point to gain early sight of his ships on their return from the Indies laden with colonial bounty. With mind perhaps troubled at the nature and prospect of his trade, Tarner raises his telescope to take in the horizon, a sea fret comes down and the Tempest begins…

As a footnote to the Tarner family, although most likely enriched through colonial conquest and exploitation, Edwin’s sole heir Leticia Tilbury-Tarner spent her time gifting their wealth to the poor and needy around them, including their house and the gardens in which the Tower still stands. The Tarner our city chooses to remember may be the philanthropic Leticia and her generosity, but – as with Prospero handing out rewards and favours at the end – perhaps not all of those deserving recompense came to be included.