Christopher Oram is the Designer for The Tempest. He has the job of creating designs and technical drawings for the set, costume and props. Most of the photographs included in this section are taken from the production model box. The design model box is always made in a ratio of 1:25. It is an extremely effective way for the whole production team to understand the set prior to rehearsals and to be able to plan the most effective ways of working with it in production.

Christopher Oram, the designer, has come up with a design featuring a crumbling proscenium arch and a wooden stage with a sunken floor that extends right out onto the thrust of the Crucible Stage.

Prospero lives in what Shakespeare calls his 'cell' and in this production his cell is a stage, giving us a fantastic opportunity to extend the metaphor that runs through the play for theatrical magic, a magician in charge of a stage - a Stage Manager. Shakespeare describes Caliban as living in a cave. In this production he will live in a cave under the stage or theatre.

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For scene one, the floor of the stage becomes the deck of the ship. There is a hatch centre stage, a rope ladder and a very large sail. We will make a large silk cloth billow to create the effect of a sail.

We have our normal entrances on the Crucible stage - 2 vomitorium entrances (these lead under the stage) and entrances upstage left and upstage right of the proscenium arch. No action will take place upstage of these entrances. This is important for the sight lines of the audience sitting to the sides of the stage. There is a pair of tabs (curtains) which draw in from either side when Prospero wants to create a special theatrical event such as the masque to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand's marriage.

In addition to the set design, Christopher also has to create the design for all the props used in the production. Like the set, major props are modelled in a ratio of 1:25. As all the pieces of the model are well used by carpenters, scenic artists, prop makers and stage managers during the production period they are usually kept safely in a special box.

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