All-female cast perform Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ in Brooklyn ... completely naked
To be clothed, or not to be clothed? That was a no-brainer for members of an all-female cast in Brooklyn who stripped down to celebrate their freedom of expression in a nude version of Shakespeare in the park.
Some people are a little weirded out, which is to be expected ... We knew that the show was going to shake things up and make people question certain things
The Torn Out Theatre company of New York teamed up with The Outdoor Co-Ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society for the unique production of The Tempest, which completed its second set of performances in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Saturday, following a spring run.
The idea behind the free show is to use storytelling and theatre to get its message of body positivity heard.
“It’s an interesting thing to feel like I’m not only making a statement as an actor, getting to play an amazing part,” said Gina Marie Russell, who played Prospero, the duke of Milan.
“But I’m making a statement as a woman about female sexuality, female nudity and really trying to normalise that and make it non-sexual and non-threatening,” she added.
Director Pitr Strait said he was a little apprehensive about the play, but that everything went smoothly.
“Even I was kind of nervous the first rehearsal and then within minutes I was like, this is normal – so normal that when we had an actor come on in clothes, she looked strange,” Strait said.