For this scene, I would have not have much lighting. It should be fairly dark because they are in a thunderstorm. The odd flash of white light to signify lightning would be needed. Occasionally they should look up and check the sky, bending down slightly or jumping slightly at a thunderbolt. The sound of rain would have to be made throughout this entire scene with a slight wind. The only props would include: wood, blanket and later on a bottle. The characters wouldn’t be moving around to much in this scene, basically staying in one small area of the island.
The audience back when The Tempest was first performed would find the dramatic irony funny. The audience would be laughing at Caliban because he thinks that Trinculo is one of Prospero’s spirits, when he’s actually not. It would also look quite ridiculous, someone barely human hiding in the pouring rain under a small cloak with a jester wandering around.
The audience knows about Prospero’s power, so Caliban is constantly scared because he could be hurt by him at any time.
Trinculo is the jester/clown/fool. His job was to make the king laugh. When he first enters the stage, he’s trying to find a place to shelter from the rain. So he’s looking around, jumping around the set looking for anything dry to rest himself. This is when he comes across Caliban lying across the floor. The audience would laugh at his reaction to it, he thinks that Caliban is a large dead fish. “a strange fish…a man or a fish? Dead or alive? He smells like a fish.” This is what the audience would be laughing at in the play, another example of dramatic irony. Trinculo and Caliban both have something in common at the start of the play. They both walk in angry and loud but towards the end of the scene they’re both relaxed.
Trinculo would be wet and miserable and trying to find shelter. He reluctantly goes under the cloak to shelter. Trinculo is very greedy character and shows few signs of remorse towards the end of the play, when drunk his comments have a mocking, critical edge which makes him seem rather detached. “swear by the book.”
In the 1970 production of The Tempest; the director described Trinculo and Stephano as foreign soldiers, who patronise and bully the native population. They shout loudly at the people to make them understand, make them drunk and get drunk themselves.
Stephano is the drunken butler in the play, he s the King Alonso’s butler, or was anyway. Stephano comes onto the stage in the scene last and drunk carrying a bottle of alcohol.
After the shipwreck, Stephano floated ashore on a barrel of wine, which he is fond of and is always drunk. He had hidden the rest of the alcohol in a safe place somewhere on the island.
But he is a greedy drunkard of a fool deciding to kill Prospero (after persuasion from Caliban) and take control of the island making himself king. He also wants Mirand to be his Queen, Caliban realises this only at the end. Stephano comes into the scene drunk, holding a bottle of alcohol and comes across the blanket. The storm is ever going, so it would still be fairly dark with often big flashes of white for the lightning. But Stephano is drunk he doesn’t really care about this much.
The audience would find this funny because all he can see is 4 legs coming out of this blanket, he’s confused and thinks it’s 4 legged monster.
Caliban cries out “Do not torment me O!...I’ll bring my wood home faster.” This is when Stephano properly notices it.
“Whats the matter? Have we devils here?” Caliban is getting quite scared because he thinks its another one of Prospero’s spirits coming to hurt him. Stephano is meanwhile still trying to figure out exactly what it is.
“…He shall taste my bottle. If he have never drunk wine before/it will go near to remove his fit.” He then pours down some of his alcohol down Caliban’s throat. Caliban likes this and thinks its some heavenly liquor now thinking Stephano’s some sort of god. He instantly wants to change allegiance to Stephano.
The main prop now is the alcohol and the cloak, the storm is still brewing and will carry on until the end of the scene, Trinculo is also under the cloak.
The comedy in this part is the stupidity of Caliban, and Stephano feeding the 4 legged monster. As soon as he’s tasted Stephano’s alcohol he’s forgotten about his fright and is willing to switch his allegiance from Prospero to Stephano, offering to show them where everything is on the island.
Just like Trinculo, Stephano’s main function in the play is to provide comic relief. When he sees Trinculo they are both quite relieved that they weren’t the only survivors on the island. When he first sees Caliban he is also thinking of how he can sell him as a freak and make money. Stephano soon takes control of the group as leader and gets Trinculo and Caliban drunk.
This is what he does by the end of the scene, even though Prospero is much more powerful than Stephano. Stephano is obviously scared of Caliban and dislikes him a lot but is very drunk to properly understand.
By this point, Trinculo has had time to think and recognises Stephano’s voice. But he thought Stephano has drowned and so isn’t sure who it is. “I should know that voice. It should be-but he is/drowned; and these are devils. O defend me!” As soon as he says that, I would have Stephano jumping back in shock. Now Stephano is very confused and the audience would be laughing. Stephano now thinks that it’s a 4 legged 2 voiced monster. “four legs and two voices, a most delicate monster”. Stephano then pours the alcohol down ‘its other mouth’ to get it drunk. “I will pour some in thy other mouth.” At this point they are all slightly drunk.
Trinculo meanwhile is now certain that this is Stephano and is very relieved to see him that he’s not the only survivor. I would have him jumping out from the cloak and jumping and running around hugging Stephano at this point. “If thou beest Stephano, touch me and/speak to me; for I am Trinculo, thy good friend Trinculo!”
They’d then spend a couple of minutes dancing around the stage making fools of themselves. They’d then come back to the real world after a huge thunderbolt shakes them up. At this point they had both quite forgotten about Caliban until Caliban told Stephano again he wanted to serve him. “I will kneel to him”. The audience would find the next bit amusing. Stephano says “swear by the bottle…” He makes him swear by the bottle that he will serve only him. Instead of the Bible he swears by the bottle. “be thy true subject for the liquor is not earthly.” His stupidity changing his allegiance for a bottle of alcohol.
The modern and Elizabethan would both of had experiences with alcohol and so would know why Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano were acting in this way. Trinculo knows Caliban is acting stupidly in changing allegiance but he doesn’t mind! “A most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of/a poor drunkard.”
“…now lead the way without any more talking.” They all leave the scene, drunk and all together.
The three characters Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban involved in Act 2 Scene 2 provide some comic relief from the more serious themes already introduced in the play, whilst paralleling some of the issues like exploitation, Colonisation and the relationship between masters and servants. The audience can almost predict how the encounter with end – the three characters are dreamers of low status, the comedy they provide is largely slapstick.
