Costume Designer: Maria Alejandra Anaya
Character: Prospero
The general concept I developed for the project was making an equivalence of the play with the Spanish conquest in the Americas and setting it in that general location and during that period of time, the XVI century. The idea arose from the theme of natives and foreigners arriving by chance to new lands, and taking control over it. Added to this, I united to it the objective of identifying tribes within Shakespeare’s play, which is the thematic for the Victoria & Albert exhibition of “Shakespeare’s tribes”. Following this idea the characters would be divided within 3 “tribes”:
The natives: Ariel and Caliban
The colonizers: Prospero and Miranda
The conquistadors: Antonio and Ferdinand
Prospero and Miranda arrive to the island by chance, but Prospero is captivated by the magical elements present in the island. He discovers the gold, in its mystical relationship with the sun for the native religion is the secret to astrology and magic. He uses his magic to free Ariel and make Caliban believe that he is a long awaited “sun god”. He establishes himself and Mirada as the supreme leaders, as gods, so Ariel does his magical tasks and Caliban digs the caves for gold to bring him. This allows him to control the magic and carry out his plan of bringing the noble/conquistadors to the island.
Prospero: the main idea for his costume is to show his transition between European noble and Native god, focusing on gold as the magical element and his representation as powerful sun god. The golden headpiece he makes starts the unfolding of his change in costume. His collar and jerkin, which is slashed, come undone to unveil a golden under layer that becomes pieces of his native garment along with his long smock, which comes over to cover his pantaloons. When his plans are completed and he is returning to Europe, leaving the headpiece behind symbolizes him leaving the magic behind and the costume starts to go back to its original European origins.
Performed by: Michael Peter Johnson
Personal blog: http://maanaya.tumblr.com/
Contact info:
Email: ma.anaya106@gmail.com
Costume Designer: Bronya Arciszewska
Character: Prospero
In Prospero’s costume I have explored the freeing influence of the island and the self-actualisation facilitated by escaping the confines of court society. Initially confined and encumbered by his ruff, the most potent symbol of Elizabethan social status, this newfound space allows it to transform; opening and unravelling to become a representation of Prospero’s newfound creative potential. Issuing from his resentment and facilitated by the magical potential of the island, this allows him to physically embody the storm, of which Prospero is both agent and victim. Consumed by his anger, a climax is reached, the plan is realised and justice is restored. The exaggerated ruff is removed, his magical potential exhausted and Prospero is free to return to his dukedom less encumbered by the pressures of convention.
I have interpreted the piece as belonging among Shakespeare’s prolonged critique of the intrigues of court society and exploration of the subversion of social convention. Considering modern preoccupations with the question of space, the rural versus urban environment and the room for free creativity within ordered society, I have explored the authors’ presentation of the impositions and constrictions of the elite political environment and an isolated wilderness as its antithesis. My tribes are therefore formed by those who issue from the artificial structures of court society versus those who embrace the natural order. Those characters which are ‘of the island’ – Caliban and Miranda, contrast clearly with those who are not – Antonio and Sebastian, in form, texture and silhouette. The former’s costumes consist of organic materials, creating simple unrestrictive garments and retaining their natural form, clearly founded of the island. Antonio and Sebastian reflect the rigid conventions of the political society from which they issue. All are highly structural, and necessarily contrast starkly as their impact on the body and the way that it interacts with its environment is crucial to communicating conflicting values. In Prospero, originating from the court but embracing the opportunities of the island, we see the interaction between both worlds.
Performed by: Davy Willis
Contact:
Email: bryony.arciszewska@gmail.com
Costume Designer: Maria Bruder
Character: Prospero
Taking inspiration from Martin Frobisher’s voyages in the 1570s, I have set The Tempest on Baffin Island in the North-East Arctic. Prospero is an outsider who has appropriated elements of Inuit culture for his own motives, becoming something similar to an Inuit shaman. The magical cloak is based on the seal-gut parkas of the Aleut people and is made from collagen casings. Please visit my blog thearcticprospero.tumblr to find out more about the costume and see it in greater detail.
Contact info:
Costume Designer: Viola Cesa De Marchi
Character: Caliban
My version of The Tempest is set in 2114, in outer space, on a desert like barren planet of the solar system.
The planet looks like an uninhabited desert, live-able but very hostile.
The planet’s inhabitants, Ariel, Caliban, Prospero and Miranda are the ‘rejects of the Earth’s society’, they’re humans sent there in exile by someone who wanted to get rid of them. The hostile environment forced them to transform and adapt in order to survive.
Caliban, in order to not get burnt from the sun, has mutated into a creature which has a protective armour on his back. My inspiration comes from the armadillo’s armour and the mechanics that allows it to close and make it look like a completely different thing. Moreover, the armadillo’s body part that is not covered by its armour is very hairy and vulnerable, which forms the basis of my concept for Caliban.
In my design, the skin of the upper part of his body is burnt because he is more sensitive than the other characters. The lower part of Caliban’s body is covered in thick body hair, that looks almost like a ‘human fur’, that has also grown to protect him from the burning sun. The structure symbolizes the fact that the hardness of his shell is just a protection from the outside world.
Performed by: Michael Peter Johnson
Contact info:
https://www.facebook.com/viola.cesademarchi
Email: violifera@gmail.com
Costume Designer: Maria Costa
Character: Ariel
The concept was the idea of natural forces and disasters that a human cannot control. In the case of The Tempest, Prospero is controlling the nature using his magic. I have set The Tempest in Canary Islands because it is said that is a place to spent your afterlife – Elysium. It has futuristic elements.
Ariel, is a faithful follower as he is happy to please his master and at the same time he seeks his freedom.
A servant, invisible, adaptable, entertaining – He wants something more from life, freedom. Prospero’s spirit helper. We have the impression that Ariel is a ‘ he’ but its gender and physical form are ambiguous. Rescued by Prospero from a long imprisonment at the hands of the witch Sycorax. A servant. Mischievous. Ubiquitous. Able to traverse the length of the island. Changes shape. A source of Prospero’s magic and power. Intelligent. Capable servant. Devoted. Spirit of the air. Visible only to Prospero.
Air – Water – Nature – Power. My inspiration was from natural forces and nature. He is an element of nature, a creature. The costume it is inspired from reefs and corals.
Performed by: Pavlos Lazarou
Music: Loukia Lazarou
Contact info:
Email: mariacostafd@hotmail.com
Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/macwbymariacosta
Costume Designer: Daphne Karstens
Character: Prospero
My concept of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ is based on the idea of the ‘artificial’ and the ‘natural’. The island stands for the natural. The main elements for each of the costume designs are the different materials that are used. The materials are all closely connected to their characters.
Before Prospero came to the island he was a noble, mainly related to the artificiality of the wealthy nobles. He came in touch with his natural side when he came to the island. The artificial side of Prospero is visualized by the copper colour. The influence by the island is visualized by the oxidized copper on different parts of the cloak. I see Prospero as a mix between the artificial and the natural.
Performed by: Tommie Grabiec & Tim Fordyce
Animation: Joost Hoebe
Contact info:
Mob: 07502237619
Email: daphnekarstens@hotmail.com
Weblog: http://daphnekarstens.wordpress.com/
Costume Designer: Megha Khanna
Character: Caliban
To a man in the streets it might be idle to discuss how he perceives the world around him. As he is so familiar with this “real world” of his and the objects surrounding him that he forgets to question why the world appears as it does. The objects in space appear in their familiar aspects and therefore he has no threat of them. The real problem arises when these familiar identities attempt to shift. This change in the ostensibly stable features of his world could foster uncomfortable feelings of mutability and insecurity. Hence coming to the understanding that a man’s connection to its surroundings correlates with his perception of it.
Likewise, for a performer his utmost challenge is to camouflage into an opposing character. Thus the character of Caliban in Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’ is a perfect example of human camouflage. The attempt to merge into the surroundings that he had forever lived in, in order to hide himself from Prospero’s spirits. Such instances helped me analyze tribes within Shakespeare’s play and to shape each character in contrast with another. In order to fragment each character into tribes, I have compared them with Parasites. The non-mutual symbiotic relationships where in one benefits at the expense of the other truly correlates with the mood of the play. For instance showing how Prospero and Miranda live on Caliban’s freedom while on the other hand Antonio living on Prospero’s right to the throne. Thus coming to the understanding that each character lives on someone else’s misery and fruits from it.
Caliban– Inspired by Chie Aoki’s Transforming Bodies I imagined Caliban as a form within the Island. Imagining him as a structure that could preserve or transform its own shape in accordance to the background. The lake at the Victoria and Albert Museum instilled in me the idea of Caliban being a rock. Furthermore, Elisa Stroyzk’s Wooden Carpet helped me consider the transformation from a rock solid colonial slave to a naïve Caliban with soft interiors.
Personal blog: https://www.behance.net/MeghaKhanna
Contact info:
Mob: +447440698727
Email: megha.khanna@hotmail.com
Costume Designer: Pooja Malhotra
Character: Caliban
Inspired by all things natural, Caliban is a direct representation of the island with the costume having different parts of the island on top of his body.
Performed by: David Henry
Music: 28 Weeks Later soundtrack by John Murphy + Jungle music by ‘chilloutvibe’
Contact info:
Mob- 07440-0474-185
Costume Designer: Martina Montorfani
Character: Prospero
Performed by: Anthony Webster
Contact info:
Email: martina.montorfani@gmail.com
Costume Designer: Pallavi Patel
Character: Prospero
Shakespeare’s tribes around the globe:
The ‘international’ tribe of Shakespeare, created in another very culturally different country, India. My design focuses on the influence of Shakespeare’s The Tempest in context to India and of India on the play within the film.
“I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I’ll drown my book.”
British actor-manager, Charles Kendrick, after over a decade touring productions of Shakespeare’s plays across India, realises that the time has come to return home…Last night’s production of The Tempest was his last before returning to England.
This adaptation is set in post colonial India. The political tempest in India during this period has led to Prospero having to give up his magic, of theatre created by Shakespeare, and leave for England.
The costume in the film signifies an actor’s transformation into a character. The costume and props are more than just that for an actor. They are a treasure of memories. In the film, Charles locks all these memories up and signifying the end of his time in India.
Miranda, Charles’ daughter used to make costumes for all their performances. She used fabrics available to her locally, deconstructed Indian clotrhing and drew inspiration from the array of colours she saw in India. The costume for Prospero is a melange of Indian and Elizabethan costumes. The inner most layer is a mustard ‘Angrakha’, a full length robe with an overlapping opening at the chest worn by men in the Mughal era. The second layer is a prussian blue tabard like garment, made using ‘Dupatta’ a fabric draped over the shoulders in India. The outermost layer is a grand cloak, made by deconstructing a carpet, and using a patchwork of various Indian fabrics, laces and embroideries.
Performed by: Marcus Bazley
Contact Info:
Mob. +44 7913965235
Costume Designer: Yufan Xiao
Character: Ariel
The spirit of the Tempest-Ariel.
In order to express the magic I use LED light as a part of my costume and combine with the nature material together
Costume Designer: Xinyu Zhang
Character: Prospero
The story happens in before century about 300 years , in China , before China became unified . We call it late Warring Period . There are many small Kingdoms in China, but only seven of them are strong , they are Qi , Chu, Han , Zhao , Wei , Yan , Qin . We call Waring Period Seven Kingdoms . Kingdom Qi , is a prosperous kingdom at the east by the sea and river , Kingdom Qin is in the middle west of mainland , they are strong enemies , in B.C. 288 they call themselves King of East and King of West . Finally in B.C. 211 Kingdom Qin conquered the other six , include Kingdom Qi , unified China , then Wring Period ended .
Base on this history background , I set The Tempest base on the occupation between Kingdom Qin and Qi . Milan is Kingdom Qi , Nalpel is kingdom Qin. Prospero is the king of Qi, his younger brother Antonio is the first minister of Qi . Because Prospero is focusing on his interest of researching the astronomy and magic words then paying less attention to govern the country , Antonio takes a lot of Prospero’s responsibilities to look after the country , then finally Antonio join hands with the king of Kingdom Qin , Alonso , to use of Alonso’s power to take over Prospero’s throne. Antonio become the dominator of Qi , while he affiliates Kingdom Qi to Qin. Prospero and his little daughter, princess Miranda , are sent away from the palace, and get on a boat with the last little help by Qin’s Councillor Gonzalo (to leaves some food, clothes and Prospero’s astronomy research documents on the boat). Prospero and Miranda drift from the river to the sea for few days , then stop at a desert rock island which they never seen before. There are lots of huge fossils on the rocks . The spirits of the fossils guide Prospero and Miranda to the top of the island, there is an old tree which is the only plant on the island. The tree’s branches are like tubes , and the tree could absorb lights in day time and gives lights at night. Prospero finds a spirit Ariel in the tree. The tree is naturally absorbing her vitality to be alive . Ariel explains that she was locked in the tree by a witch , who’s son Caliban is living on the island as well. Prospero uses magic to make rains to save the tree and Ariel, then the tree grows like Prospero’s magic words and star signs . Ariel is living in the veins of the tree , to thank Prospero she promises to be his slave. Prospero and Miranda settle inside the tree , and live with Caliban for a few years. In the eighth year, while Miranda grows up such a pretty girl , Caliban tries to rape her . Prospero uses magic to control him , and treats him as his another slave. After few years living in the tree , his costume is connected to the tree. The branches and roots grow around on his gown, the magic words connect to the branches and roots , the words’ shapes change as well . Finally there is a magic 3D tree net grows around on Prospero , the pattern is as same as the tree’s . The tree net also absorbs lights and gives lights , so while Prospero plays the magic. After twelve years researching and practicing his astronomy magic , Prospero becomes a strong and powerful enchanter , then he starts his revenge plan : making the tempest .
Performed by: Pork Chow Mein
Contact info:
MA Costume Design for Performance 2013-2014 