A glorification of humanity, the phantasmal world of Shakespeare.

"The Tempest" was the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. He started with dynamic history plays, created several side-splitting comedies, and wrote a number of tragedies that stand as painstaking examinations into the meaning of human existence. Finally, he produced the Romances, a series of works that give an impression of transparency like the calm after a storm. It is in these works—with their tales of families ripped apart by the cruelties of fate and nature, of people reunited through God's help, of people who once hated each other making peace after time has passed—that we can glean Shakespeare's message, which is often a glorification and affirmation of humanity.

"The Tempest" was the first play in the First Folio, the earliest collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works, which was published seven years after his death. It was popular with audiences of the day, and it remains so today; what more proof do we need that contemporary audiences find the play fresh and accessible than the fact "The Tempest" was a key theme for the opening ceremonies of both the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics in London. Like "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet", "The Tempest" has been released as a film numerous times, and the tale continues to spark the imagination of many directors and film artists.

Directing the production as "The Tempest" comes to the NNTT stage for the first time will be Shirai Akira. Shirai did a magnificent job of bringing the aesthetic world of Izumi Kyoka to life in the November 2011 production of "Castle Tower". We all look forward to seeing how Shirai handles the production of this wonderful work from Shakespeare's later years.