‘The isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not”. The words are from The Tempest and the place for them to be uttered from Sunday onwards will be the Walled Garden at Wadham College. For that is where the Oxford Shakespeare Company takes up residence again (it’ll be their fourth visit) until mid-August — with a production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives joining it in repertoire at the end of this month.
Directing The Tempest and working for the first time with the company is Mick Gordon, the driving force behind London’s Gate Theatre at the beginning of the century and later an important cog at the National Theatre. I asked him how he prepares for open-air performances (this production has already visited Cornbury Park and the Shakespeare House in Grendon Underwood, for example).
“Obviously, you have much more control over the magic box of a proscenium arch theatre. The Tempest, however, offers a welcome challenge because of the circularity in its structure. It was clear from the outset that we had to set it in the round and in one way that lessened the difficulties. I prefer the actors to find what suits their voices best. It’s built for Wadham, and I know that garden very well.”
Gordon was at Wadham in the late 1980s and with this production helps celebrate both the play’s and the college’s 400th anniversary. Everything intertwines in a very Oxford way: his tutor had encouraged him 20 years ago (“She recognised my passion for the theatre before I did”) and now sits on the board of the OSC; the company’s head, Charlotte Windmill, worked as an intern for Gordon at the Gate.
He has a clear, very precise and scholarly, vision of the play. “Because we’re in the oldest story-telling physical shape — that of the circle — it’s very important that the production matures organically and I am less concerned with its visual look and coherence than with the emotional impact it can carry.
“Shakespeare has written a series of revenge plots here; then just over two-thirds the way through, the external agent Ariel appears and speaks to Prospero; and Prospero is so shocked by what he’s told that he immediately stops all those revenge narratives and compassion reigns until the play’s end.”
For Gordon, casting is always important, and in this case he told me he’s found opportunities which are not always available or needed, opportunities to dig deeper into The Tempest. “Our company is small and so it gives you a chance to double in a way that you hope is interesting. So the same actor plays Caliban and Ferdinand; likewise I’ve doubled the malignant sprite Ariel with the loyal and true servant Gonzalo — once again the counterpoint there is fascinating. All the way through the piece I’m trying to echo virtue and vengeance — the dual nature of the human condition.”
There is a strong musical element to this Tempest, which Gordon has worked on with musical director and composer Nick Lloyd Webber. This is the third time Lloyd Webber (best known for TV commercials, songs for ‘CBeebies’ and, more recently, record production) has provided music for OSC productions, and all the music is live.
He told me: “The major challenge in outdoor productions is the acoustics, or lack of same; as a result, it’s difficult to pitch one voice against another even for the best performers.” Are there good opportunities for mood-appropriate music in The Tempest?
“Definitely! There are countless places, but if I had to pick one it would be the underscore for Caliban’s ‘Be not afeard’ speech. I try to draw on traditional folk songs in terms of melody, but there’s a touch of opera and even 1960s Americana. I hoped shared instrumentation allows the styles to blend these seemingly hotch-potch references.”
Oh, and how did he become involved with the OSC in the first place? “I married the boss, Charlotte Windmill.”
The Tempest runs from Sunday until August 19. Tickets: 01865 305305.
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