The Tempest at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Tim Crouch brings his idiosyncratic style to The Tempest, and it’s a match made in theatre heaven. Here, heaven is the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, where the line between Prospero’s relationship with the characters and Crouch’s relationship with the actors blurs and intertwines.

A series of vignettes, this tale of revenge and forgiveness sees sorcerer and erstwhile duke, Prospero (Crouch), stranded on a desolate island after being shipwrecked. He uses his supernatural powers to control both the island and others around him, namely his daughter, Miranda (Sophie Steer), and servants Caliban (Faizal Abdullah) and Ariel (Naomi Wirthner), while seeking revenge against those who usurped his hereditary entitlement. While Prospero was usurped by his brother, Antonio, in the play, here he is replaced by a sister, Antonia (Amanda Hadingue). This is common with Globe productions (last year, Twelfth Night featured Lady Belch in lieu of Sir Belch), and an apt homage to the gender-swap-revelling Bard.

Taking the stage as both director and star, Crouch is an enigmatic presence. He works incredibly well alongside Steer, in particular, who adds an impish comic touch. Meanwhile, Abdullah and Wirthner are equally dynamic in roles that present rather delicate terrain to traverse in a post-colonial context.

Being one of the Bard’s self-referential works, it’s a fitting canvas for the raconteur director. Crouch is famed for fusing the magical with the realist; accordingly, the enchantment of the island Shakespeare describes on the page contrasts with the stark realism of the set design. Prospero’s lyrical meditations on art have always alluded to a self-insert of Shakespeare, who was notably ahead of his time in breaking the conventions of Jacobean theatricality, all of which is brought to life in this leftfield production. The ruse also extends to the crowd: There are numerous planted cast members in the stalls, and it’s initially unclear whether they are disrupting the play or in on the act.

In keeping with Crouch’s minimalist style, the costumes consist of Docs and Crocs, a Paul Gascoigne football vest, and a grubby mac decorated with badges for Prospero. Aside from a droning hum, incidental music is eschewed in favour of a cappella and the actors creating their own sound effects, often to comic effect.

This certainly isn’t one for the purists, and it is, admittedly, perhaps a tad too self-aware at times. Prospero makes reference to his Burberry mac, actors laugh at their own lines, and the surrealism of the production is repeatedly alluded to with a (quite often literal) wink-and-a-nod to the audience. Post-modern takes on Shakespeare have been around for decades, so the effort to make this production contemporary in turn comes across as a little dated. But it’s a win for admirers of progressive theatre, and the magnetism of the performances shines regardless.

A triumph of experimentalism, The Tempest is a unique addition to the tapestry of Shakespeare interpretations. A meditation on life’s tragedies and fantastical turns, it’s brought to life with suitably wondrous performances from an electric cast.