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Shakespeare meets Jersey’s history behind the doors of 16 New Street
After sell-out performances of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, Butterfly Theatre Company returns to 16 New Street to perform a site-specific play marrying the works of Shakespeare with the story of Jersey’s tempestuous past.
About Secrets Unlocked
At the end of last year, the Trust was thrilled to be approached by Carla-Marie Metcalfe, a former Beaulieu student who produced both of Butterfly’s previous shows at 16 New Street, who wanted to write a site-specific piece based on the history of Jersey – but with the lure of Shakespeare: ‘The beauty of the work of Shakespeare is that the themes withstand the test of time. Themes of secrets, lies, family affairs and painful goodbyes... Through our unique and immersive storytelling style, Butterfly will pair scenes from Shakespeare’s celebrated plays with the stories of Jersey’s tempestuous past.’ As the audience travels back in time to an era when conflict and threat of invasion was never far from people’s minds, Butterfly ask them to consider: if the walls of 16 New Street had eyes, what would they have seen?
Described by What’s On Stage as being ‘Theatre for both aficionados and complete beginners’, the beauty of Butterfly’s live performances is they give locals and visitors the chance to experience 16 New Street in a way they have never seen before. For the regular theatre goer, it is an exciting opportunity to see famous excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays in a totally new and unique way while also finding out about the history of the Island; for the beginner, the production is an opportunity to witness a new and innovative theatre experience that goes beyond the four walls of an auditorium.
Artistic Director, Aileen Gonsalves, explains ‘Butterfly have a strong reputation for producing promenade performance in unique locations across the UK and abroad’. Most recently Aileen has written and directed Play on Shakespeare, in association with the RSO, and RSC First Encounters The Tempest at the Swan Theatre, Stratford. She has been the RSC International and National Youth Ensemble director since 2008, as well as an RSC education practitioner.
