A Bermudian-based theatre company that launched last year hopes to expand in 2025.

Seamus Miller, the founder of Devil’s Isle Shakespeare Company, said the organisation planned to remount its first production, an adaptation of The Tempestwith a Bermuda theme, for a month-long run with as many Bermudians involved as possible.

Auditions will be held for the show, which features about half of Shakespeare’s original dialogue and 12 new musical numbers.

People aged 18 and under saw the production, which was performed throughout the island in September and October, free of charge.

Mr Miller was pleased with the response The Tempest received from young people, who can also watch all the organisation’s future shows for free.

He explained: “I keep a video on my phone of a middle school student laughing so hard that he literally fell out of his chair.

“Making the shows free for young people was the first decision I made when founding the company.

“Shakespeare's plays were never published in his lifetime, they're not meant to be read, they're meant to be performed and great productions make the plays easy to love.”

The organisation also hopes to entertain 3,000 audience members — three times the number that saw The Tempest in 2024 — become a registered charity on the island and perform at ten schools.

Other plans this year include working with a team to reactivate the historic Somers Playhouse in St George, offering classes by professional teaching artists and giving back to the Ignite Entrepreneurial Accelerator Programme, which supported the company in 2024.

The group expects to double its budget from $130,000 to $260,000.

Mr Miller said: “We also have longer-term plans, such as a site-specific Romeo & Juliet that is designed for Fort St Catherine and a homecoming production, in which Bermudian performers who have left the island to work on Broadway or the West End all come back to do a professional show.”

• Visitdevils-isle.orgfor more information