The Winter's Tale

by William Shakespeare
directed by Keith Rylands-Bolton

ACT II: Leotes, however, sees their departure as proof of their guilt and a plot against his life. He casts his pregnant wife into prison and rejects his daughter when Paulina brings the baby from Hermione's cell. He refuses to listen to any of his followers' pleas for clemency.

ACT III: Hermione is placed on trial and appeals to Leontes to heed the Oracle which will then exonerate her from the charges that have been placed against her. The Oracle pronounces Hermione's innocence, yet Leontes disowns its proclamation. On hearing of his son's death, Leontes repents and apologies to the Oracle, only to be told that Hermione has died of a broken heart. Meanwhile, Antigonus, on Leonte's orders, has taken Hermione's baby to a far off place to be left to die. In fulfilling this command, Antigonus is killed by one of the wild creatures of that country but the baby is saved by pastoral folk.

ACT IV: Sixteen years have passed. Pilixenes, in Bohemia, is concerned about the whereabouts of his son, Florizel, and both Polixenes and Camillo go disguised into the pastoral lands of Bohemia to search for Florizel. at a sheep-shearing festival and amid such pastoral celebration, Polixenes discovers his son is seeing a shepherd girl called Perdita and is so enraged that he orders the death of the shepherd and a strict punishment for Florizel and Perdita, who flee to escape his wrath to leontes in Sicilia.

ACT V: Meanwhile in Silicia, Leontes is still in penance, taunted by Paulina about his actions. Leontes does not recognise Perdita, who is in fact his daughter that Antigonus left to die sixteen years before. Polixenes comes to Bohemia to find his son and all is resolved. Paulina then uncovers a statue of Hermione, which transfixes Leontes. To the eerie sound of music, the statue stirs - it is the real Hermione who once again is reunited with Leontes.

Cast

Crew

Acknowledgements