Inspired by the courtly royal masques of the 17th century and the designs of Inigo Jones (the architect behind St Paul’s Church), The Tempest will be an evening of pomp, magic and illusion. Directed by Iris Theatre’s Artistic Director Daniel Winder, audiences are led on an exciting indoor and outdoor promenade adventure as St Paul’s Church transforms into the magical island.
Jamie Newall takes on the role of Prospero, and we caught up with him to find out more.
The Tempest is at St Paul’s Church until 28th July 2018.
You’re appearing in The Tempest at St. Paul’s The Actors Church, what makes it different from other productions of The Tempest?
The fact it’s staged partly outdoors in a lovely garden and partly in a stunning classical church designed by Inigo Jones, a late C16th /early C17th architect and theatre designer known for his work on dozens of court masques – he would most probably have seen the first productions of some of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s a small cast production with only seven actors. It should look very beautiful.
How did you get involved in the production?
I simply thought it’s an interesting part to tackle and I love Shakespeare so asked my agent to put me up for it.
Have you played Prospero before and what are you most looking forward to about playing the part?
No, I haven’t played this part before, but I have done quite a few other plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I hope I’m approaching it with as much truth, openness and attention to the wonderful language as I can muster. His relationship with all the other characters (human and unearthly) is very, very different in each case, which is fascinating to explore.
What excites you most about your fellow cast mates?
Their skill and versatility, it’s a very talented bunch of people. As I said, there are only seven of us and some are playing three parts. At the same time as exploring the text we are learning about magic, about movement from the early C17th and are also providing all the music, playing instruments and singing.
How would you describe director Daniel Winder’s vision for this production of The Tempest?
Faithful to Shakespeare’s writing and one that embraces our location. We are aiming to make it as clear, accessible, entertaining and magical as possible. It’s one of Shakespeare’s last plays, often described as a Romance and has a wonderful mix of strong emotional characters, magic and comedy.
If you had the power of sorcery that Prospero has, what would you do with it?
Rid the country of the present incompetent government and their selfish, destructive policies and put a halt to Brexit.
