Last Updated on September 25, 2024

Stormy weather

There’s something joyful about a trip to the Globe with its sense of history, all the wood, the open skies, the groundlings and, most of all, the feeling that you are experiencing William Shakespeare’s work in the setting it was written to be played in. This does not mean that the current Globe’s productions are stuck in the past. And that is certainly not true of their latest take on The Tempest directed by Sean Holmes and performed by the talented Globe Ensemble. This is a modern-dress version, filled with contemporary references and nods – from football to Harry Potter to plastic pollution – with a set done up like a desert-island Butlins and much laughter too. 

The action starts as ever with the storm. Prospero (Ferdy Roberts) aided by air spirit Ariel (Rachel Hannah Clark) has conjured up a shipwreck to take revenge on the relations who usurped him as the Duke of Milan and marooned him and his daughter Miranda (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi) on the island 12 years previously. Trapped in a glass box, the Italian nobles present as an unserious bunch, unfit to rule, who’ve overdone it on the bottomless Prosecco on a booze cruise. The stage is set for this tale of redemption and forgiveness to unfold.

There is a fair amount of verbal cantering through the lengthy exposition that characterises the beginning of The Tempest. This is not a problem for anyone who knows the play well or has at least read the synopsis but could confuse people who don’t know the background to the plot.

The costumes and props are very much part of the show. The first big laugh comes when Prospero says to his daughter: “Lend thy hand And pluck my magic garment from me.” Miranda helps Prospero off with his cloak – a very on-point Dryrobe – to reveal a precariously small pair of yellow Speedos. This semi-naked Prospero has the air of a man who’s spent too long on the hippy trail, the sort of 20th century aristocrat who might have given over his estate to a yurt glamping park. Ferdy Roberts presents him as a 

Caliban (Ciaran O’Brien) is physically impish, presenting as an ill-tempered holiday rep, rather than the usual monstrous grotesque. He forms a chaotic comedy trio with drunken butler Stefano (George Fouracres) and jester Trinculo (Ralph), responsible for most of the liberties taken with the script and the topical jokes. I never expected to take part in a group singalong of Football’s Coming Home in the middle of a Shakespeare play. The conclusion of the Women’s Euro 2022 will perhaps require a fresh audience participation song so you get the sense that no two performances of this Tempest are going to be exactly the same.

The wedding masque turned into a glorious bacchanal of frenzied dancing by the nymphs and gods and was genuinely transporting. It was the highlight of the evening for me. It also shows the versatility and depth of the ensemble cast. Lucy Phelps, Katy Stephens and Joanne Howarth all impress in their main roles as Sebastian, Alonso and Francisco respectively but here transform and show off their wild dance skills.

Of London’s great cultural bargains, the £5 tickets to stand in the Globe’s Yard are among the best. Standing for the length of a Shakespeare play may not be for the frail or faint-hearted. Yet, from the comfort of my seat, I felt a little jealous of the groundlings’ involvement in the action and their spirited reactions to the play. Fittingly, when Miranda speaks her most famous line “O brave new world that has such people in’t” she sweeps her gaze from her fellow islanders and addresses us, the audience.

This may not be the right Tempest for the strictest of text purists but there is a great deal of visual interest, excellent physical acting and good comic timing on show here. This year the Globe is celebrating its 25th anniversary in its modern form – a good excuse to head down to Bankside and check out this lively, funny and slightly irreverent production of The Tempest. 

The Tempest: www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/the-tempest-2022

The Tempest is running until 22 October 2022 at Shakespeare’s Globe at 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT

Looking for something different?  We also recommend Jack Absolute Flies Again, currently showing at The National