Shakespeare's The Tempest traditionally unfolds on a remote island, but director Tim Crouch has transported the action to uncharted territory in his new production at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. The show, described as unsettling and strange, reimagines the classic play as a playful exploration of colonialism and storytelling, assuming the audience already knows the plot.
Crouch, known for experimental works such as An Oak Tree, offers a diffident, collaborative take on Prospero's patriarchal authority. The islanders share Prospero's speeches as if dividing loot, while Faizal Abdullah’s Caliban carries a dignity that asserts his ownership of the island, interspersing Shakespeare’s lines with his own language. Sophie Steer portrays Miranda as an awkward, homeschooled 15-year-old, and Naomi Wirthner’s Ariel is earthy and grounded, stripping away the magic that often masks colonial logic.
The production also shocks when outsiders arrive, reimagining the shipwrecked nobles as modern-day Globe visitors. Ferdinand becomes a daffy usher with a flapping lanyard, Antonia is an obnoxious corporate supporter who films on her phone, and Stephano is a loutish Spanish student with a rucksack of supermarket cans. A magical feast features a mini tub of Chocoholic Heaven ice cream instead of a faerie banquet.
Rachana Jadhav’s maximalist set includes puppets, masks, and secret disco lights, usually forbidden in the candlelit space. The review notes that the production breaks every rule of the Globe, both onstage and off. However, it also calls the show odd and slow-moving, with the drunken subplot shining while the main storyline mumbles, lacking a clear subversion of the final scenes.
The Tempest runs at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse until 12 April. Despite its flaws, the review concludes it hums with mischief and life.
