Gareth Machin is Artistic Director of Wiltshire Creative and Director of The Tempest, the outdoor, site-specific reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tale in Churchill Gardens from 24 May to 4 June is the centre piece to this year’s Salisbury International Art Festival.
This unique new show is an outdoor walkabout production, meaning professional actors and talented community contributors will take you from scene to scene to different locations around the park.
The Tempest runs Wednesday 24 May – Sunday 4 June at various times, more information can be found here.
You’re directing The Tempest as part of Salisbury International Arts Festival, what can you tell us about the production?
Well, most importantly we’re working outside in one of Salisbury’s most beloved parks. It will be a promenade event where the audience will be invited to journey around the park, seeing different locations through fresh eyes.
There will be a cast of 60 every night ensuring that the production has real scale and spectacle and the professional cast will all be amplified meaning that everything will be heard. In terms of our approach to the play, as with all Shakespeare, The Tempest lends itself to myriad interpretations.
For me, I’m keen to explore the idea of the island as a celebratory metaphor for the power of live performance. It’s a space where normal rules are suspended, hierarchies upended, where unexpected encounters and conversations take place and where transformation can occur. At a time when we’re still luring audiences back it’s a powerful reminder of what the performing arts, at its best, is capable of achieving.
Why did you choose The Tempest as the centrepiece of this year’s festival?
This will be the largest event produced by Wiltshire Creative to date. It brings together the making capacity of our producing theatre (Salisbury Playhouse), the outdoor event expertise of our festival (Salisbury International Arts Festival) and the year round community engagement of our arts centre (Salisbury Arts Centre).
As such it brings to fruition some of the creative ambition which fuelled the merger of the three organisations in 2018. The play itself also demands a multi-art form response, drama of course but music, dance and visual art all of which lends itself to a festival environment.
The community will be involved too, tell us a little more about that?
Community engagement is at the heart of this project. We have 150 community participants ranging in age from 7 to 80 working alongside our professional cast. They will collectively play Ariel placing them at the centre of everything that happens on the island.
Community participation isn’t restricted to performance though, alongside our many front of house volunteers, we are also running craft and visual art workshops where participants will be able to create puppets for the production and contribute to the visual decoration of the park. In addition, each night a separate group from within the community (e.g. choirs, dance groups) will be performing on a community stage as part of the famous Masque scene. Community ownership of the project is vital.
How are the professional actors supporting the community players they are working alongside?
To be honest, the question is probably best asked the other way around. The community cast have been rehearsing for some time now and also know the park and its environs. They have a brilliant understanding of what we’re collectively trying to achieve and are looking forward to welcoming the professional cast to Salisbury.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you in directing this production?
As ever with projects of this scale, it’s easy to get side tracked by logistics and forget that to tell the story. The logistics are huge, and we have a superb team of producers and an amazing production manager who will be overseeing that. I need to be supportive and sensitive to all of the various logistical demands, but I also need to make sure that the play emerges in brilliant focus.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Tempest?
This is a one-off event, made by and for the people of Salisbury celebrating and showcasing the creativity of the city. Come and enjoy!
