Make for the Te Puna Quarry’s charming amphitheatre for a magical evening of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ this February.

Summer Shakespeare Tauranga Trust’s cast have been rehearsing relentlessly for the past three months to bring audiences a stellar show.

Set in a mysterious and deserted isle, enter a world of fantasy, comedy and chaos as a banished Prospero plots to return to former glory as their adversaries face their own set of magical torments on the island.

“Shakespeare always reflects the main storyline with a comedic storyline that balances the main storyline and almost makes a mockery of it,” says director Pascal Tibbits.

This version of ‘The Tempest’ comes with a unique take, with Celtic and Nordic styling, and a few of the traditional male leads being played by women.

“I tend to come to a show with a fully formed 3D image of what it’s all going to look and sound like, so once I imagine that, I can’t hold it all in, and then the hard work is getting the actors to buy into your vision.”

There’ll be more than just a feast of theatre on these Shakespearean nights too. Pascal and his wife producing the show, Vikki Gorton-Tibbits, are cooking connoisseurs, winning My Kitchen Rules 2023.

“We are bringing a little bit of that to the quarry. We’re going to have to do something a little bit fancy, so it’s going to be quite fun!”

Held at the Te Puna Quarry Park, performances will run from 7.30pm-9.40pm from February 8-17.