The Tempest is Shakespeare's last full play and has always been seen as his farewell to the stage. The story of Prospero and his magic isle and the enemies who are shipwrecked there is the most luminous and austere of Shakespeare's last plays, the so-called romances where he uses fantasy to project a vision that might as easily be a revelation. The Tempest has a sprite, Ariel, and a monster, Caliban – both of them rich, lyrical roles – but what it requires more than anything else is an actor who is equal to the demands of Shakespeare's magus, Prospero. In this Globe production, Prospero is played by one of Britain's greatest actors, Roger Allam​. It's marvellous to see one of Shakespeare's great, late roles done by a master.

Jeremy Herrin​'s production is neat and efficient. Jessie Buckley is a tousle-haired Miranda who's gobsmacked by the brave new world she encounters and Joshua James as Ferdinand in his blonde gormless way presents the rapture of the boy who's got the prettiest girl at the dance. Colin Morgan ( TV's The Fall, Humans) is a feathery Ariel with appropriate touches of subtlety and reticence. James Garnon​ has vigour as Caliban.

Allam's Prospero is absolutely steady in its musicality, its stillness, its projection of a wisdom that can contain paradises and purgatories, storms by sea and storms of the heart.