General News
13 March, 2026
Tempest coming to botanic gardens
CAMPERDOWN Botanic Gardens will see a storm brewing as Ozact Theatre Company brings William Shakespeare’s The Tempest to life later this month.
As one of the company’s first plays brought to life, The Tempest will see previously unused areas of the gardens brought alive through outdoor theatre.
Ozact producer Matt Young, who plays island inhabitant Caliban, said The Tempest was one of Shakespeare’s more magical plays.
“The plot is a duke has been exiled to a deserted island with his young daughter,” he said.
“They’ve been shipwrecked out there for many years and during this time he’s become in tune with nature and essentially developed magical powers.
“When his adversaries come sailing nearby, he makes a big storm, shipwrecks everyone on his island and seeks his revenge.
“It’s a great play for us because it really uses the outdoor setting and the different places we perform in really bring out the magical and environmental aspects of the play and enhances what we do.
“We’ll be using a few different posts in the gardens this year – the last couple of years, we’ve been under the willow trees, but this year we’ll be making the most of that spectacular view and using corners of the garden we haven’t used before.”
Mr Young said the company has had a strong connection with the Camperdown area since its inception in 1995.
“The company’s very first production was down at Loch Ard Gorge in 1996, which was a production of The Tempest,” he said.
“We’ve be been performing at the gardens since 2016.
“It’s an amazing spot right at the top of the hill, especially with the views we have up there, so it really adds to the play.
“We love Camperdown – we stay overnight every year to make to most of performing here.
“It’d be great to connect with our fans – we’ve had people from Camperdown who have been coming to our shows since we started, so it’ll be great to see our regular fans and show them what we can do this year.”
Andy Delves, who has been with Ozact for 25 years, helms the production as director and in the role of the duke Prospero.
He said the company has performed The Tempest a number of times across the state.
“With the indefinite closure of Loch Ard Gorge, we had to rethink how we approach this work,” Mr Delves said.
“To that end, I saw this as an opportunity for us to change how we express this story.
“I wanted to inject some new energy and new voices into the production.
“I hope audiences enjoy this new perspective that would not be possible without the incredible cast and crew we are lucky to work with.”
Gonzalo, councillor to King of Naples Alosno and friend to duke Prospero, will be reimagined as Gonzala when played by Ozact head of publicity Sorcha Breen.
She said she was looking forwards to the upcoming performances.
“It’s not just the time on stage that I look forward to every year, it’s the thousands of repeat and new faces that I get to greet, it’s the stunning locations that I get to travel to, it’s the team of creatives that I get to work with but most of all it’s the living history that I get to share with our fans,” Ms Breen said.
“Ozact is known for its lineage of loyal fans who continue to choose to buy tickets to see us in a cost-of-living crisis.”
The Tempest will come to the botanic gardens on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29.
Read More: Camperdown, local