The Tempest in the Firth of Forth

With an almost 90-minute round trip to get to its beach setting to sit amongst smelly seaweed, broken shells and midgies, this is perhaps not a production for the casual theatregoer. But those who make the effort will be rewarded by a wonderfully immersive adaption of one of Shakespeare's final plays from outdoor specialists Hands in the Air.

Whilst Sunny Moodie, James Jones and Siannie Moodie put in great turns as arch-manipulator Prospero, comic relief Trinculo and rapidly-opening flower Miranda, it's Lewis Harding's performance as Caliban that stands out. With unkempt hair, a tree motif daubed onto his chest and wild, staring eyes, Harding brilliantly evokes the swarthy guardian monster of the island, with more vulnerability and likeability than is usually the case with the play's antagonist. 

A wild, brooding beach with grey clouds scudding overhead far removed from Fringe-time Edinburgh is a brilliantly evoctive setting and the production astutely harnesses the location to draw out the cinematic quality so inherent in The Tempest. In place of two, there becomes a whole number of stage entrances, with the cast creeping out from behind rocky outcrops and in the case of Caliban, bursting spectacularly from the beach itself, showering the audience with shells and sand. Characters who would usually be offstage and out of action in an indoor production perform out of earshot further down the beach, adding a frisson of "he's behind you" whilst neatly underlining the fact that the three individual plots are supposed to be unfolding simulatenously and in real time.