The Tempest - Prospero

In August Squeakydoor Theatre Company presented William Shakespeare's The Tempest at The Niddry in Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Fringe Festival. All the costumes for the show were designed and made by Louise Wilson and myself. You can read a review of the show by the Edinburgh Spotlight here.

This costume was designed for the lead role of Prospero, played by Marcus Belassie. Prospero was the Duke of Milan but was usurped by his brother 12 years before the play begins and was set to sea in a rotten boat with his baby daughter Miranda. They had few supplies, save for Prospero's books of magic and a few garments given to them before their banishment in charity. Therefore Prospero will have had only a few sets of clothes to see him through the last 12 years and they will be very broken down. 

The text of the play refers to prospero's 'magic grament' and we chose to realise this as a cloak. The cloak fastened at the neck with a giant gold covered hook and eye so the actor could remove it easily. The cloak could be richer and less broken down as it was precious to Propsero so he would have taken extra care of it and only worn it when performing magic. The border designs on the cloak represent the 4 elements whilst the black and gold corner pieces are the elements combined. the collar was trimmed with hand made gold lace and recycled gold cord. Unfortunately there are no pictures of Prospero wearing the cloak on stage as he only wore it briefly.

Prospero also has a magic staff which he uses throughout the play. The staff was made from a naturally twisted length of wood into which we carved spiral designs and would colours metallic threads round to reflect the colours of the element in the sprites and his cloak. A circular shell was mounted in the fork of the top of the staff creating a powerful and unusual focal point. The staff was a really useful tool for the performers and really helped give Prospero a sense of power.

More information on the show can be found at www.squeakydoor.co.uk including, in future, the dates of any future performances. The company hopes to return to the fringe with The Tempest in 2012. Click on any image to see it full size.


Also from the Tempest: The Sprites