★★★★
The Globe, renowned for housing and recreating Shakespeare’s plays, has delivered yet another adaptation of The Tempest.
The Tempest tells the story of Prospero (Tim Crouch), the usurped Duke of Milan, cast away on a remote island with only his daughter Miranda (Sophie Steer) for company, alongside the monstrous servant Caliban (Faizal Abdullah) and the mysterious spirit Ariel (Naomi Wirthner), who is bound to do his bidding. Living in exile, Prospero plots his revenge, conjuring a storm to shipwreck his enemies onto his shores and manipulating them in a grand puppet master spectacle.
This production opens with Miranda playing a game of chess, a piece of foreshadowing to the way events will unfold with Prospero as the chess master, dictating the movements of those around him. It is an especially fitting image given that The Tempest is widely considered Shakespeare’s final play. Many have drawn parallels between Shakespeare himself and Prospero, who are both orchestrators of worlds, directing characters and destinies at will.
Director Tim leans fully into this interpretation. He not only directs the production but also plays Prospero himself. However, while Prospero may be the chess master within the narrative, the surrounding characters are not reduced to mere pawns. Instead, they are played by real human beings. Members of the audience and stage crew, to be exact, who enter the action at any given moment. Rising from their seats, they slip seamlessly into Shakespeare’s language, delivering lines in iambic pentameter and switch between audience to cast members throughout the performance.
This breaking of the fourth wall gives these characters an agency that their characters were not designed to have. The audience is kept in a constant state of anticipation, wondering who will be the next person in the audience to transform into a character. This uncertainty generates an invigorating tension that keeps viewers perched on the edge of their seats.
One can only imagine Tim Crouch’s director’s notebook: deceptive opening, check. Clever manipulation of the fourth wall, check. Subverted audience expectations, check.
The production even offers an alternative ending. In Shakespeare’s original, forgiveness prevails, reconciliations are made, and the characters sail away together. Here, however, the closing moments take a sharper turn. In one of the most memorable scenes of the night, Antonia (Amanda Hadingue), introduced as an apparent audience member but later revealed to be Prospero’s traitorous sister, walks out at the end, remarking, “I don’t recognise this play”. The line feels like a quiet but pointed message to anyone expecting a faithful, strait-laced reproduction. This version is not interested in playing it safe.
Music is another standout element of the production. Nothing short of ethereal and haunting, the harmonised vocals performed by Emma Bonnici and Victoria Couper create a sense of foreboding that permeates the theatre. The soundscape transforms the atmosphere, deepening the enchanted and magical aspects of the performance and leaving genuine goosebumps on one’s skin.
What makes this adaptation most enjoyable is that it understands what an adaptation should be. Not simply regurgitating a classic, it embraces adventure and offers a familiar story in an unfamiliar form, allowing everyone to experience it anew. In a theatrical landscape where Shakespeare’s plays can feel overly familiar, this production succeeds in pushing us to the edge of our seats and making us feel captivated once again.
The Tempest will be performed at Shakespeare’s Globe (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) until 12 April.
Words by Deborah Adelodun
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