On paper, the idea of bringing William Shakespeare’s The Tempest into the 21st century by using live-action performance capture technology to thrill theatregoers in the bard’s backyard is an exciting and daring move. In reality, Intel’s collaboration with Imaginarium Studios and the Royal Shakespeare Company is a little underwhelming.

Ariel—the sprite at the centre of The Tempest, played here with poise and determination by Mark Quartley—is the obvious choice to render as a digital character on the stage. Quartley, zipped up in a skintight, superhero-like jumpsuit, is described by the team behind the production as the puppeteer. Depending on how the ship wreak-strewn stage is lit, flesh-toned sensors can be seen through his motion-capture costume, showing the audience the very modern-day puppeteer’s strings. The person driving the tech—arguably the puppeteer’s puppeteer—is completely hidden from view, however, as they wrestle with a computer that is appropriately dubbed Big Beast.