I do lots of sketches or little storyboards. Something that doesn't look wrong but doesn't look right.

I was trying to take an environment that at first glance looks quite naturalistic but in reality is abstract. The floor has to break into very small pieces. Any sort of natural object on stage doesn't look right! Also there's the constraint that this show has to play in repertoire. Rupert was keen on some kind of endless landscape, which is very hard to do on stage. They seem to take place in parts of the island but at the same time within the same location.

There are lots of scenes in the play that had to be addressed. It was about making the island into a place where these things could happen, giving it a real sense but also a surreal sense that enabled the activities of the magical world to happen.Ĭan you explain more about how that came out in the design? What themes or emotional qualities in The Tempest did you want to draw out through the design?

You need to have a vague idea of which way to go with it - otherwise you have nothing. With something like Shakespeare, it's better the director comes with a view of what they want you to do with the play because it's been done so many times. What is useful from a director in terms of input and what would you rather they didn't do?

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