Review: The Tempest at Northern Stage

“…a phenomenal introduction to Shakespeare for the whippersnappers!”

The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Northern Stage

By Lauren Powell

My first encounter with The Tempest was the BBC’s animated Shakespeare series waaay back in the 90s. They managed to condense it down to half an hour of insanely creepy but compelling stop-motion animation. In fact, I vaguely recall some Caliban-centred nightmares. So I was really thrilled to hear that the RSC have created their own version of The Tempest aimed at younger audiences. I thought that perhaps, as an adult, perhaps I’ll be able to enjoy this child-centred production without upsetting my subconscious too much? I remain unready for the grown-up version. 

One of the things I enjoy most about Shakespeare is the way he uses magic in many of his plots. The titular Tempest is a magical storm, a spell cast by the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero. He wishes to avenge himself on his brother who has usurped his position. Rather than drowning his brother, he and his entourage are shipwrecked on the island with Prospero, his daughter and his servants. Cue a love story, some more betrayal and ultimately forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Stage 3 at the Northern Stage is an interesting space. It’s small, completely flat and gives off more function room vibes than anything else to me. This isn’t a criticism – just an observation. It has a significantly more casual, low budget feel than the grand open spaces of Stage 1 and 2. My first impression was that I looked at the staging and thought it was quite simple, with trees made of straggly fabric and a hillock covered in patches of green textured material. I won’t deny that I was ready to be underwhelmed. How wrong I was. As soon as the cast entered the area, weaving through the crowd and the set, I was transported. The costumes of the island dwellers matched the mood of the set in comparison to their shipwrecked counterparts. I’ll come back to the costumes but I thought the meshing of the staging and the actors was very clever.

I loved the actors’ dynamism – they did such a good job of engaging the children in the audience. All the actors worked double shifts as island spirits and main characters. Shakeel Haakim, who played Caliban and also Gonzalo, was so good at shifting roles I didn’t realise it was just him until I saw him changing costumes by chance. Caliban wasn’t too scary – if you are worried about traumatising your kids – but he was memorable! Then there was Prospero’s other servant, Ariel (played by Carla Garratt). Oh my god – she was amazing. Garratt fizzed with energy and clowned around, really drawing the kids in. If she wasn’t a unanimous audience favourite I would be shocked. Her singing was wonderful too. I’d happily go to see anything else she is in at the drop of a hat. Ferdinand (Garon Akbar Clark) was a quiet favourite of mine too. Jelly-boned and lolloping, I could see him equally as an EastEnders wide-boy or as a buffoonish love interest for Miranda.

This play is notoriously light on female characters, so I was expecting Miranda to be the only feminine-coded character. However many of the men were not only played by women, they were also largely feminine-coded too so it took me a while to grasp who was who. 

The costumes, I said I’d come back to them and here we are. They were great. I feel like they did a lot with a low budget and a skilled seamstress. The island dwellers were dressed in gorgeously lavish rags, strips of fabric woven to give you a rustic vibe combined with patchwork reminiscent of the Japanese style of mending, sashiko. I just adored them. I found myself looking at Miranda’s pants and thinking “I would wear them every day if I owned them!” The Milanese were fun too – a really interesting mishmash of modern clothes and period details that popped.  I did find Trinculo’s outfit confusing. He’s a jester, but really her outfit read ‘very Spice Girls music video’, so I found it a little visually confusing. Call me picky but a silver puffer jacket just felt out of place. A quick nod here to the prop team too. Simple yet effective. Prospero’s staff was almost a character in itself.

It’s not my job to review the audience, however, I kept an eye on them because I was curious to see how they were reacting to a play where they could probably understand the movement more than the words spoken. They were enthralled for about three-quarters of the play. Towards the end some eyes started to wander and fidget but the cast’s dynamism kept sucking them back in.

Although this is aimed at children you don’t have to be one to enjoy it. If you have children you should absolutely take them to see this production. If, like me, you don’t have children, use some of that free time and disposable income to come and see this. It was a fabulous way to reconnect with the story as an adult and a phenomenal introduction to Shakespeare for the whippersnappers!

The Tempest plays at Northern Stage until Friday 11 April. Tickets are available here.

Lauren Powell is a recovering academic from the North East of England. Currently residing in South Shields with her partner and two malevolent gerbils. Lauren is a short form writer who writes fiction as well as reviews. She has loved the theatre since childhood, and many years ago volunteered back stage with an amateur group, Stage Focus.  From one man readings to musical and beyond, Lauren can not get enough! You can find her on Twitter/X here.