A world of possibility awaits in Churchill Gardens this week, as the city’s much-loved park has been deftly transformed into the island set for Salisbury Arts Festival’s flagship production The Tempest.

Armed with camping chairs, my 15-year-old and I headed down to watch this impressive, outdoor re-imagining of Shakespeare’s tale of reckoning and redemption.

Directed by Gareth Machin, Wiltshire Creative’s centrepiece to the festival follows a King and his entourage shipwrecked on an island of magic and mystery.

The performance begins with sea shanties from the actor-musicians, before the audience are invited to pitch our portable chairs in front of an impressive ship (innovatively made of old pallets), for Prospero’s opening act of revenge – where a ferocious storm shipwrecks a crew of men onto the remote island he now rules.

We then follow the cast, through the shipwreck and bobbing along the ocean, past sea creatures until we run adrift on a desert island, where the park’s infamous ‘mound’ and play equipment become part of the production.

The professional cast are joined by an adult and youth company of around 50 members of the local community – including Wiltshire Creative’s Stage 65 youth theatre – for this bespoke project. Together they do a wonderful job of guiding the audience from scene to scene through the various locations around the park, thus creating an intimacy between the characters and spectators.

As a regular user of Churchill Gardens, I had spotted the unusual constructions of recycled materials dotted about the park over the past week and was intrigued to see how this walkabout production would work, particularly with it still being open to the public.

Gareth and the Wiltshire Creative team have done a spectacular job of using and enhancing the natural surroundings as both set and backdrop. The park’s trees, shrubs and permanent structures are cleverly incorporated into every scene. And the combination of superb acting, eye-catching costumes and sound effects is so mesmerising that I was not easily distracted by a few random walkers in the distance.

All the actors and performers are wonderful and I felt a sense of camaraderie between cast and company.

Robert Bowman brings a believable wisdom as the sorcerer Prospero, while Matt Crosby’s Trinculo makes us smile with his comic antics. There is a chemistry between Emma Lau’s Miranda and Samuel Tracy, as Ferdinand, making them an instantly likeable and adorable couple.

The large ensemble do an excellent job as 'mob' spirits, dressed in black with thunderbolts emblazoned on their outfits, appearing en masse - seemingly from nowhere, their menacing presence and singing is an integral part of the drama.

With sustainability at its heart, designer Dan Potra has taken inspiration from the devastating beach pollution across parts of Asia to produce the costumes and different sets out of recycled materials and actual rubbish, which visually enchant while reminding us of the world we live in.

Community is a real focus of the festival and artistic volunteers have helped with the making of costumes and set – including a large unfolding floral frame, which creates a backdrop for a stage on a scaffolding bridge across the water, where local community performers put on a brief show as part of the story. This was a real delight, enjoyed by both audience and cast.

Music and sound effects play a huge part in the production, from the simple creation of the storm scene at the start to the continuous magic and mystery throughout. Musical supervisor Kate Edgar deserves praise for directing the large company of performers through some enchanting harmonies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this extraordinarily creative show.

  • The Tempest open-air performance at Churchill Gardens, Salisbury, continues through til Sunday, June 4 at various times. For tickets contact the box office: 01722 320 333 / ticketsales@wiltshirecreative.co.uk