Descending from the heavenly sphere of the gods to the mortal world below, Arcturus raises a mighty storm. For Labrax, a ‘procurer’ of women, the storm brings shipwreck and ruin. For his two female captives it offers a chance of escape. Washed up on a rocky coastline the two women seek refuge in the shrine of Venus, but it seems that the goddess alone cannot protect them. They are forced to rely instead on the help of the elderly Daemones, who is already struggling to control his reluctant slaves: the impudent Sceparnio and the inept Gripus.

Drawn from a lost Greek play, The Storm is the most popular of Plautus’ Roman comedies. This version opened at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in July 2005 as part of the ‘World and Underworld’ Season.