ONE of the main roles in the in the RSC’s forthcoming production of The Tempest, which opens at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in November to conclude Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary year, is that of Ariel and joining the cast to play this part is Mark Quartley.

He will be taking on a whole new area of stage craft by wearing a motion capture suit provided by The Imaginarium Studios, live on the Stratford stage for the very first time.

This allows the movements of his ‘avatar’ Ariel to be projected on and around the stage, including flying and morphing into different versions of the spirit which are delivered by using Intel technology.

Mark’s previous theatre work includes Written on the Heart and Measure for Measure (RSC 2011/12), Private Peaceful (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios), Ghosts (Rose Theatre, Kingston) and a regular role in the television comedy Hoff the Record.

As previously announced, Gregory Doran directs the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, as he returns to the Company for the first time in 23 years. 

This production of Shakespeare’s late play, in collaboration with Intel and in association with The Imaginarium Studios, has been in development since September 2015, and aims to break new boundaries in theatre-making with the very first live motion capture performance appearing in a major classical stage production.

It’s also been announced that The Tempest will be broadcast live to cinemas across the UK and Europe, as part of the RSC’s ongoing Live from Stratford-upon-Avon screenings which started in 2013.

The live broadcast will take place on January 11, 2017,  followed by encore screenings around the world. Picturehouse Entertainment continues to be the RSC’s worldwide distribution partner.

The rest of the cast will be announced shortly.

The Tempest, which is the RSC’s festive offering, opens on November 8 and runs through to January 21 next year