Shakespeare at Esperance Stonehenge

Acclaimed theatre troupe Come you Spirits return by popular demand to the magic of Esperance Stonehenge with three Shakespeare performances and the launch of the ESPERANCE WINTER SOLSTICE FESTIVAL.

The Shakespeare performances SOLD OUT last Winter Solstice, so book early to secure your tickets.

There are 3 performances to choose from or enjoy a discounted ticket price to see them all.

THE TEMPEST on Thursday 20th June @ 7pm - 8:30pm

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM on Saturday 22nd June @ 2pm - 3:30pm

MACBETH on Saturday 22nd June @ 7pm - 8:30pm

MORE ABOUT THE TEMPEST:
A story of freedom from colonisation, forgiveness, redemption and love. An exiled King finds refuge on an island full of magic – magic that he has conquered and enslaved, until he learns better from those around him. This play invites us to consider our own expressions of freedom and bondage, and to question – what binds us? How could those shackles be released?

MORE ABOUT A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM:
Move between dimensions with these four powerful characters as they try to heal the chaos of love via Fairyland, the Forest, and the Palace’s thinly veiled layers of existence. Offering a comedy full of truth, love, joy, colour, expansion and expression. It invites us to run full-speed towards what we love in celebration and joy.

MORE ABOUT MACBETH:
A supernatural prophecy propels a husband and wife to kill for the crown. It’s a story that roars with the refraction of the many shades of love and the human spirit – a spirit that can overcome all odds, or be taken over. Love that can inspire greatness, or drive us to darkness. It invites us to sit with our shadows, claim them and know that we always have a choice.

MORE ABOUT COME YOU SPIRITS:
Come you Spirits presents Shakespeare with the aim – to amplify the CLARITY, the MAGIC, the PACE and the STAKES using only four characters to tell the stories. There is also a storyteller character to make sure the audience stays on the journey together. He is your leader through the tale, initiating the proceedings, checking in on you and the story’s progress twice during the show, and closing the event. The four characters focus the key themes into key archetypes – many characters still exist in the story but we don’t show them, only refer to them.

Come you Spirits have been touring across Australia and internationally with their repertoire of Shakespeare plays, each one edited to 1.5 hours, to wide-spread critical acclaim. From Australia's own full Stonehenge in Esperance WA, the Haven Amphitheatre in Castlecrag, the Southern Swan Tall Ship sailing Sydney Harbour, Queens Gardens in Townsville QLD, Marvell Hall Gardens Byron Bay, the Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads, the Distillery at The Rocks Sydney, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, the winery region of SA, the Willow Globe in the UK, The Dell in Lancashire UK, the Riverbank of St Albans in regional NSW, the boulders of the Bushland Reserve at Cooper Park in Sydney's East, and an open field in Kangaroo Valley NSW.

PLEASE NOTE - this performance this interactive with the audience moving around and on the stones and through the audience. There is seating provided inside the stone circle so there no need to bring your own chairs. The ground is uneven in sections, so comfortable footwear is recommended. This is an all weather event. In the event of rain, a protective marquee will cover the audience. Each performance runs for 1.5 hours with no interval.

MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY STYLE:
The acclaimed company style amplifies the magic contained in Shakespeare's plays and celebrates the wonders and mysteries of the natural world reminding us of our own magic. We draw on Ancient Wisdom from around the globe to support the storytelling and to connect the audience.

The soundscape used in all the shows has been originally composed by Brandon Read and is attuned to the natural frequencies of the body and of nature and is supported by a selection of Indian, Tibetan and African sound healing instruments played live.

The four professional actors in the troupe are Charles Mayer, Jo Bloom, Sontaan Hopson and Ciarán O'Riordan and each hold a Working With Children Check and have many years experience working with children to bring out their very best. The storyteller is Nathan Meola who travels the country using storytelling as medicine and healing for young and old.

Through performing Shakespeare in natural settings and incorporating nature in innovative ways, combining powerful sound, dynamic physical performances full of chi energy, and interacting with the audience from the moment they arrive - our intention is to provide experiences for a diverse community coming together to connect to nature, to storytelling, to themselves and to each other. To move towards a collective sense of healing, love, connection and ultimately peace. The company has no affiliation with any religious or spiritual persuasion but a human desire to share wisdom from around the globe.

We share Shakespeare's vision of the “purpose of playing” being “to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure."

At the end of every performance a short and optional meditation is offered for the wellbeing of the audience members, the cast and crew.

“Come you Spirits will take you to a place just between the human and the ethereal, to demonstrate just how close we are through language and our connection to the natural world. Utterly indistinguishable from magic.” - Theatre Travels

In 2023, Come you Spirits received a prestigious Commendation in NSW Parliament with a Community Recognition Statement by MP Tim James: "The moonlight performance was just magic. The costuming and acting were brilliant and the acoustics were extraordinary. The community can be very grateful to have such stunning cultural experiences.”

"This is next-level experiential theatre. One of the best theatrical and outdoor adventure experiences you can possibly have in this or any other city." - City Hub

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shakespeare but not as you know it...The troupe had done the work for us, so all we needed to do was show up. Nourishment for the eyes, ears, nose and tongue and offered a weight off the heart and kinship with your fellow human beings.” - Arts Hub

“Minimalized cast, delivers maximized SHAKESPEARE. Highly Recommended. Magnificently performed by 4 outstanding actors.” - Sydney Arts Guide

“The performers are wonderful storytellers, utilising the energy of the audience and environment to provide a connection to language and the powerful soundscape is designed to be a whole-body experience. I found the performances to be spiritual and engaging. I was impressed with the passion and energy of the performances and completely mesmerised by the experience.”- Stage Whispers

"Come You Spirits are a theatre company with a difference. Not only do they offer strong, sharp performances of Shakespeare’s works (in well-paced productions), but they also engage uniquely with the space around them, and offer audiences an experience designed to enhance their connection to nature and wellbeing. They are making innovative steps in ecological or environmental theatre, and their site-specific work is spectacular. They are also generous practitioners who were much valued participants at our recent ‘Ecological Shakespeare in Performance’ conference at James Cook University.” - Dr Claire Hansen, Lecturer in English at the Australian National University

"Come You Spirits put the rhythms of Shakespeare's language in tune with the frequencies of nature and the elements, breathing new life into words and characters with which we have become too familiar. Enthralled by these performers in a production pared back to bare essentials, I found myself finding Shakespeare made new again as if by alchemy.” - Professor Laurie Johnson, QLD university, President, Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association