Rough Magic exists because of the Adelaide Fringe! Our first production was The Tempest in Fringe 1998, a sell-out success in the Adelaide Zoo.

 In the 2000 Fringe, Rough Magic staged Shakespeare’s Richard II in Old Parliament House to wide critical acclaim. Fringe 2002 saw Rough Magic in the Old Adelaide Gaol, staging an eerie Macbeth in one of the prison yards. Our 2004 Fringe event was Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, the first ever production in the Arch Theatre at Holden Street. In Fringe 2006 we performed a double bill of Stoppard's After Magritte and Checkhov's The Marriage Proposal.

  We’ve also been active between Fringes. Local playwright Wayne Anthoney’s play Where’s Eric, a comedy about what Eric Godot’s doing while everybody’s waiting for him, was seen in 2001. It was followed by a vast and colourful production of The Winter’s Tale.

 Rough Magic has also made two short comedy films, Revenge & Felicity and the award winning Still Life.

 Rough Magic's artistic director is Alice Teasdale, who has directed all of the company's productions.

The name "This Rough Magic" refers to our first production, The Tempest. In The Tempest, Prospero refers to his “Art” as “this rough magic”. Tempest is sometimes seen as Shakespeare’s last play, and his farewell to his “Art” of writing. The parallel between Shakespeare’s “Art” and Prospero’s is clear and beautiful.