REVIEW: Fathom at The Hope Theatre 5 - 7 October 2026

‘An adaptation with strong creative lineage drowning under its own weight’ ★★

“Full fathom five thy father lies, Of his bones are coral made…,” sings Ariel to Prince Ferdinand in The Tempest. Imogen Usherwood, last year's Peter Shaffer Playwright-in Residence (Trinity College, Cambridge) imagines a folk-horror interpretation of Shakespeare’s most magical work in modern-day East Anglia. Widely believed to be the Bard’s final work, Usherwood adapts The Tempest into a murky thriller about rural secrecy, but despite its strong creative lineage ultimately fails to escape its exposition.

Instantly dropped into a nightmare situation, Finn (Ben Smart), wakes up house-bound after an accident deep in the marshland. We meet the house's occupants later: Peter (Philip Jennings), the father, a biologist; Martha (Helena Baker), the daughter, who spends most of her time sat by the marsh, and Abigail (Rebecca Eden) – a straight laced maid of sorts. In Usherwood’s interpretation of Shakespeare, Prospero becomes Peter, controlling magic that can contain people in the bog around his home. At the same time, he maintains strict control of his daughter (Martha, or Miranda) and eventually forces her into a situation against her will. Abigail gives foreboding warnings and signals to Finn, in the same kind of sing-song way which Ariel does to Ferdinand.

Fathom succeeds best in creating an atmosphere through lighting and sound. The set creates an underwater feeling that gives the impression of being submerged in a marsh. The un-personified bog, Colin (presumably Caliban), is reflected excellently in the sceneography. The thematic structure of physical preservation and memory also has real poetic potential.

Unfortunately, the play doesn’t come together and cannot keep up with the poetic adaptation. It suffers from being an all-saying play; rather than driving a story forwards with active conflict or action, the narrative unfolds through revelations alone in bloated monologues. Usherwood’s dialogue in key scenes feels under-refined and unintimate – especially noticeable in emotional scenes, for example, when Finn learns more about his father. The dynamic between Finn and Martha remains a repetitive loop of mutual apologies rather than dramatic progression and ends by partially mirroring the fates of some of Shakespeare’s characters but with a lack of Reasoning.

The plot's logic relies on characters suddenly possessing knowledge that hasn’t come as a result of any action and is therefore unearned, causing the tension of the play to collapse. The plot reads far more like a compelling short story than a piece written for the stage.

Again, the poetic potential of this story is strong and contains promise; I would love to see a version of this with more individual character styles and with appropriate tailoring to a modern setting. In this instance, however, this play ultimately drowns under its own weight.

Photography: Imogen Usherwood

Cast:

Ben Smart

Philip Jennings

Helena Baker

Rebecca Eden

Creatives:

Imogen Usherwood (Writer)

Gina Stock (Director)

Marianne Nossair (Assistant Director)

Tilly Jackson-Long (Lighting Designer)