Setting the scene: Shakespeare in the Park Festival

It's a starlit Autumn evening and the sun is slowly sinking behind the trees.

Crowds of people are being drawn into the park with chairs, blankets, tables, rugs, beanbags and hampers in hand ready to setup their picnic dinners.

Corks pop, cheese knives clatter and conversations draw to a crescendo.

The lights dim, the crowd lulls in anticipation and …. suddenly, the stunning open-air stage comes to life.

Welcome to the magic of USQ's Shakespeare in the Park Festival.

Since its inception in 2004, over 20 000 theatre-goers have experienced the spectacle of live theatre at the annual Shakespearean Festival

It has become a much-anticipated event on the South East Queensland cultural calendar, offering residents and visitors a unique Shakespearean experience.

Many a heart fluttered at this year's production of Romeo and Juliet while Macbeth (2007) and Hamlet (2004) wowed audiences with their powerful tales and The Comedy of Errors (2006) and Taming of the Shrew (2005) showed-off the lighter side of Shakespeare.

This Autumn, audiences will be treated to the extraordinary, other worldly adventure of The Tempest performed against a stunning backdrop of stars and moonlight.

The final and finest of Shakespeare's late, great romances, The Tempest tells the tale of Prospero, Duke of Milan, exiled on an unknown Mediterranean island who, using his power over the sprite Ariel and monster Caliban, sets off a mischievous chain of events to secure justice.

Both tragic and comic, the multi-layered tour-de-force is a delicious blend of grace and grandeur, mystery and marvel, and confusing complications.

The production will feature some of Australia's finest emerging actors under the direction of well-known Australian Actor and Director, Andrea Moor.

The 2009 Shakespeare in the Park Festival runs from 26 February to 7 March in Queens Park, Toowoomba and then tours to Springfield from 12-14 March and to Hervey Bay from 19-21 March.

For more information about the Festival visit www.usq.edu.au/shakespeare.