Eyeball's Tempest is not exactly faithful to Shakespeare's original text, but tries to put across Shakespeare's story in the company's own distinctive style. The company's name refers to its philosophy that theatre should not just be about words but should have a major visual element, and so many of the extensive cuts in the dialogue have been replaced by something physical and visual to keep the plot intact.
This production opens not with a storm but with the island waking up, the sounds and movements of the animals and birds created by the four Ariels (Lea Pascal, Andrew Johnson, Seth Ewin and Holly Harris, who also accompanies on violin), before Caliban (Anselm Ibing) emerges from behind a wall of books wearing a large (realistic) phallus and attacks the sleeping Miranda (Becky Palmstrom) before being stopped by her father Prospero (Ayman Oghanna). Not a word is spoken for the first ten minutes, but it is still interesting to watch.
Many of these visual touches are woven into the story: the shipwreck is shown in shadow through the Brechtian white half-curtain; Prospero's tale of how he was deposed is shown as he tells it using stuffed dolls on one of the wooden planks from the shipwreck, which also become bookshelves and many other things; Miranda uses a spell from her father's book to freeze Ferdinand (Chris Zegel) so she can examine and then kiss him without him knowing; shadow puppets show Prospero what is happening to some of the others elsewhere on the island. All of this is co-ordinated by the Ariels, dressed in green and brown leotards, making things appear and disappear or changing them into something else.
The company describes itself as 'a rag-tag group of students, graduates and academics, none of which have any professional training but all of whom have theatrical pretensions'. Despite being untrained amateurs, this is a slick and imaginative production from director James Hartman with totally committed performances all round from a talented cast. Lea Pascal is excellent as Alonso, Sam Wilkin turns in a very good comic performance as Trinculo the jester, Ayman Oghanna has a silky smooth, commanding voice and presence as Prospero and Rebecca Palmstrom and Chris Zegal are also very good as the young couple Miranda and Ferdinand. Anselm Ibing's Caliban works fine sometimes, but occasionally there is a bit too much strutting and growling and playing with himself.
Eyeball is, if you will pardon the pun, a company to watch, as it is an amateur company with a very fresh approach to theatre. There are no doubt many other companies performing in this physical style on the Fringe, but probably not as well as this very young ensemble. Their Tempest is very entertaining, visually appealing and at times very funny and is well worth a visit.