Last week we journeyed to Stratford-upon-Avon for an exciting and magical Creative Lab delivered in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company. We invited eight brilliant artists to watch the RSC’s production of The Tempest, developed in collaboration with Intel and The Imaginarium Studios, and to respond with ideas stimulated by the themes of the play. The artists we invited were:

Jane Gauntlett - writer for film and theatre

Tom Pursey - Co-founder and Creative Director of Flying Object

Kathy Hinde - artist exploring the relationship between nature and technology

Tony Churnside - creative technologist and digital innovator

Jono Sandilands - graphic artist and printmaker

Ross Sutherland - writer and performer 

Aisha Sanyang-Meek - filmmaker, writer and dancer

David Haylock - Watershed’s Creative Technologist

The participants had two days together to think, imagine and play around with Shakespeare’s themes of magic, power, migration, leadership, nature and weather. We spent the first morning on a backstage tour of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre exploring the impressive technology behind the motion capture of Ariel (sorry, we can’t give away all the secrets!). The theatre has a fascinating history with many of its walls animated by installations telling the stories behind the fabric of the building and the wonderful plays it houses.

The lab was facilitated by magician Stuart Nolan, who guided the artists on an ideas generation session using blank cards and loose parameters to help build and shape their project ideas.

On the second day of the lab, the artists split into two groups and each settled on one idea to develop further. It became clear that seeing The Tempest at the start of the process gave the artists a solid contextual and narrative foundation to support and progress their ideas. At the end of the day, the artists presented their ideas.

Jane, Kathy, Tony and David developed a concept for a maze that would take its audience on a journey encountering characters from The Tempest. The audience would be given opportunities to misbehave and be asked to make difficult decisions against the clock. 

Tom, Jono, Ross and Aisha created an election. Who would you vote for as your next leader, Ariel or Caliban? Expanding the play beyond the stage, this idea explores the desirable/undesirable characteristics of leadership alongside the media portrayal of political candidates. This project would engage its audience through lots of different channels.

We are excited to continue collaborating with the participants and the RSC in the future.