Uninvited Guests perfectly laid the scene for This Last Tempest, introducing the audience to the Shakespearean text and creating a separation between the classic and this piece.

Their story began with an ending in a stage space where fantasy and technology met – imaginary waves created by sound breaking against a bank of whitewashed speakers and exposed circus ropes.

Ariel and Caliban appeared in striking costumes and the stage filled with smoke, however the performers’ characterisation was at odds with these illusions.

Jessica Hoffman and Richard Dufty played themselves, their physicality and vocal delivery humanising these ethereal creatures.

Sound was effectively used throughout; props contained speakers and microphones were placed within the set so that the sound created by the performers could be manipulated into soundscapes.

However the visual elements were difficult to read – by showing the stage mechanics of suspension the imagery became pedestrian.

Prospero’s final speech in The Tempest refers to the fleeting nature of Shakespearean theatre which relied on creating atmosphere through language alone.

By playing that speech at the end with a resolutely concrete and cluttered stage empty of actors Uninvited Guests demonstrated how difficult it can be to create something fleeting and magical in our technological age.