“This Is My Theatre” have this time given their unique treatment to one of Shakespeare’s last plays: The Tempest. They also have a special way of welcoming you in to the space as audience, with beautifully harmonised versions of sea shanties and other traditional songs, sometimes a cappella and in this, some accompanied by strings, cajon and flute, which sets the atmosphere perfectly for the performance.
The Tempest is a curious tale of betrayal, revenge and forgiveness woven together with magic. To tell the story there are many aspects of tragedy, but also of comedy; making it hard to place it in a genre within Shakespeare’s canon. There are several stories occurring all at the same time, unfolding in snippets, and many of the characters have conflicting desires and aims; the main thread being Prospero: the overthrown Duke of Milan, wanting revenge on those who usurped him. There’s also a love story, there’s a farce with drunks, there’s a magical spirit and the son of a witch – yet with just four highly skilled actors multi-rolling through the characters we know exactly who is who and what is happening where.
These four actors transfer seamlessly between the characters they play, using only a change of outer costume such as a jacket, yet by their physicality and change of tone of voice, or accent, we know exactly who they are. Lily Smith changes from innocent Miranda to worldy wise and ridiculous Trinculo yet retains her comedy timing in both: the man-fish segment with Caliban is hilarious. Leon Topley goes from Ferdinand the hapless possibly lusty love interest to Stephano the ambitious drunk, with great fun moments in both characters, including a timed knee shuffling with Miranda which was super. Eliot Hay is both the old and manipulated King Alonso and the monstrous, put upon yet unpleasant Caliban, managing to elicit sympathy for both unsympathetic characters. And Duncan Woodruff is both the powerful magician Prospero and his psychopathic brother Antonio, who are incredibly different energies.
They work together so well it’s like watching a moving jigsaw puzzle create itself and then move again and take shape as something new and equally exciting. They bring the action down the aisle creating a sense of intimacy and immediacy with us all, drawing us into the action we see, making us part of the story. There are so many standout moments, and one crucial one is the spirit Ariel, created with three masks which three of the actors move in such a way that you know exactly when Ariel is playful, powerful, scared, and everything in between. Duncan Woodruff as Prospero responds to Ariel as if he completely believes this sprite, and straight away we don’t see the actors playing Ariel we are just drawn in to believe the spirit is there.
The super skill they have is speaking Shakespeare’s words as if they use them every day. Their grounded and authentic delivery makes it easy to follow and to understand for first time viewers as well as seasoned Shakespeare fans; they don’t complicate anything. They bring out the story for us to enjoy through the understanding they have of what they are saying, finding all the nuances: comedy moments in a serious scene, or moments of groundedness and pity in what could otherwise just be farce. The classic shipwreck at the start of the play being told with a model wooden ship on a blue scarf sea is glorious, fitting in their brand of rustic and organic setting wonderfully.
This is beautifully directed by Chloe Bond who truly understands the awareness Shakespeare had of his own writing in this play, shown in Prospero’s last speech, commenting on the play being a play: “we are such things as dreams are made on” is delivered with such wistfulness and sincerity. “This Is My Theatre” are uncomplicated yet always surprising and hugely entertaining: and this is an uplifting, very special production which is an utter joy to watch, glorious and gorgeous, with liberal helpings of magic sprinkled throughout.
St Peter’s Church, Preston Park, 27 April 2025
Photos credit: Ethan Taylor
