The Albany in Deptford is cooking up a magical storm this Christmas with a play inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Told entirely using puppets, The Magician’s Daughter is written by former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. He chats to Matthew Jenkin about adapting The Bard’s classic story for youngsters.

SHAKESPEARE’S The Tempest is generally regarded as the playwright’s last play and his grand farewell to the theatre, bulging with theatrical metaphors alluding to The Bard’s final curtain call, but it also covers such weighty issues as colonialism and revenge.

It can be a lot for even an adult to swallow, let alone a toddler. So to try and adapt the story and make it easily digestible for children as young as three, is a daunting task.

However, under the expert hands of acclaimed children’s book writer Michael Rosen and the Little Angel Theatre company, all the magic and mystical energy of Shakespeare’s masterpiece has been carefully extracted and injected into a new story told entirely using puppets.

News Shopper: Ariel and Caliban in The Magician's Daughter. Photo courtesy of the Little Angel Theatre

Produced in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Magician’s Daughter will run at The Albany in Deptford from December 6 to Christmas Eve and tells the tale of a grown-up Miranda who recounts to her daughter the adventures she had living on a magical island with her father Prospero.

Rosen, who was appointed Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009, says despite the complexities of the original play, its more mythical aspects will appeal to children of all ages.

“I love the idea that there is a magic island which is place you can go away to,” he says.

“Then there’s this whole question of power which can be used badly or well. I like the idea Prospero is trying to do good and get his revenge over these bad people but at the same time is a bit of a dictator himself. I like the ambivalence of that.”

Rosen’s play may be a child-friendly sequel to The Tempest, but the award-winning writer is not afraid to tackle some of the same themes Shakespeare tried to explore.

Rosen believes children do understand those issues.

He said: “What I have done in this sequel is tease out some of those points and make it clear to them.

“For example, at one point Miranda’s daughter Isabella says she doesn’t want to rule the island. So children can understand that. She doesn’t want to be a bossy boots.”

News Shopper: The Magician's Daughter. Photo courtesy of the Little Angel Theatre

The biggest challenge in writing the play was working with a cast of puppets instead of actors.

“I had a cast of two actors with two arms each,” Rosen explains.

“So that means at any given time the maximum number of characters on the stage moving will probably be four. Knowing that, to make a plot and dialogue can be quite a challenge.

Most importantly, however, he says he wanted the audience to empathise with the puppet characters.

He said: “I wanted to make a play with a strong emotional tug so you care about Miranda’s daughter and also these rather weird creatures Ariel and Caliban.

“You know they are actually going to be inanimate objects on the stage so you have to think about that quite carefully.”

To book tickets, call 020 8692 4446 or visit thealbany.org.uk