Did you know this year is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death? Theater-rats have been told this a hundred times by now, but it bears reconsidering. In the course of four centuries, audiences have remained entranced by his work—the same plots, characters, and dialogue—unchanged, ever since.

Shakespeare has a truly universal appeal and it’s the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s latest production, The Tempest, now playing at the Sidney Harman Hall through August 28, which makes a fitting tribute. It’s this summer’s iteration of Free For All, a great Washington tradition, ongoing since 1991.