Wildcard Theatre reveals cast of Tempest

Wildcard Theatre (Electrolyte), known for its signature gig-theatre style, has announced casting for its upcoming production of Tempest.

The actor-musician company will include Loren O'Dair (Dream) as Ariel, Tashinga Bepete (The Railway Children Return) as Ferdinand, Ben Simon (Dunsinane) as Sebastian, Ruby Crepin-Glynne (The Syndicate) as Miranda, Gigi Zahir (Haus of Cray) as Trinculo and Antonio, Alexander Bean (Teddy) as Caliban, Eleanor House (Long Shadows) as Stephano, Rob Meteyard (The Uses of Poetry) as Gonzalo, and Kate Littlewood (The Last Days of Don Juan) as Prospero.

Directed and adaptated by James Meteyard, the piece features composition by Jasmine Morris, set and costume design by Luke W Robson, lighting by Sherry Coenen, sound design by Daniel Balfour, costume supervision and production by Ezra Barnard, design assistance by Jacob Anderson, production management by Sean Ford and movement consultation by Jade Hackett.

Meteyard commented: "I've been thinking about this show for about five years now and working on it for about three! I love Shakespeare and truly believe he's the UK's most
culturally significant playwright. But I often feel that when his plays are presented in the theatre, they're inaccessible, boring or not engaging, particularly for a younger or non-traditional theatre-going audience. After seeing how well these demographics engaged with gig-theatre on Electrolyte, I wanted to apply this form to Tempest – a play whose central character Prospero has been in Isolation for 12 years, a feeling we can all relate to following the last couple of years. It has wizards, spirits, monsters, a drag queen, live looping, rock, funk, drum and bass, rap and a bold and vibrant set and costume design. At its core, this production will examine our society and ask: what does it mean to be human? I'm excited to look at these age-old themes through a modern lens as I'm confident they'll resonate just as powerfully today as when they were first written."

Tempest will run from 11 March to 3 April at The Pleasance in north London.

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