Reader Reviews
The Tempest (Haymarket, Theatre Royal, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | The last production of The Tempest I saw clocked in at just two hours but inevitably Trevor Nunn has managed to drag out Shakespeare's shortest play to three hours (including interval) and apparently it was nearer to four hours at one point of the rehearsal period. As so often with Nunn these days the result is ofetn turgid with much of the magic lost and things reach a nadir with an interminable wedding presided over by Cirque de Soleil. Although some of the acting in minor roles is pretty poor there are some excellent performances, particularly Andrew Jarvis as Gonzalo, Elizabeth Hopper as a delightfully childlike Miranda and Tom Byam Shaw as Ariel (one of three!) who is a much less irritating spirit than some I have seen. However, Nicholas Lyndhurst doesn't justify second billing as Trinculo and I felt that the characterisation of Caliban was completely misjudged. Ralph Fiennes portrays Prospero as a middle aged man weary of life and too tire to wreak full revenge on his usurpers. It's an unusually tolerant and forgiving Prospero but one that Fiennes puts across superbly and with tremendous command of the verse. It now seems amazing that Nunn was such an acclaimed Artistic Director of the RSC given some of his more recent efforts but despite this the magic of one of my favourite plays manages to survive. - David Baxter | 28 Oct 11 |
| The story telling was not there for me and I left in the interval. I felt uninvolved. Not sure about the set with buildings on it either when it is supposed to be an uninhabited island-it undercut the story somehow. SFX too were a little muted at times. I normally find the Tempest entrancing but this one did not engage me. - HL | 25 Sep 11 |
| Slow, slow, boring slow....slow. Oh of course it's directed by arch pedant Nunn, what else would it be? - Coralb | 11 Sep 11 |
| Ralph Fiennes is a performer of grace and gentleness, and these qualities result in a Prospero of overwhelming sincerity. When Fiennes is speaking, the play comes alive. However, when he isn't, the play often feels bitty and overlong. Just two years ago, the RSC collaborated with a South African theatre to present an urgent and profoundly affecting version of the Tempest, in which Antony Sher's Prospero is as much coloniser of Caliban as he is decolonised by the villains in his beloved Milan. This breathed a fire of anti-colonialist rage beneath the surface tenderness of the play, which was riveting. No such focus or vision is applied to this production beyond the fact that time is running out (as symbolised by an hourglass of running sand that Prospero places in the stage foreground). Thus, the play fails to come fully to life, and the disparate characters and scenes feel somewhat disjointed. I sat behind Elizabeth Hopper's gran, who was as proud as punch of her ballerina turned actress grand-daughter, playing Miranda, in her first big break. I'd have to say she has much to be proud of, as Hopper brings the same gentleness and grace to Miranda that Fiennes brings to Prospero. In addition, she captures the wide-eyed naivety and excitement of a teenage girl exposed to men for the first time, which was impressive, since as her gran said, "she's actually 23." - Steve | 10 Sep 11 |
| Its pretty boring. Fiennes does a good job, but the whole story is dragged out, so at the end, the best part, you're abit tired, although nice singing - Andrew Lime | 08 Sep 11 |
| Saw it on the 29th and really liked it. It was my first "Tempest", so I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I definitely enjoyed it, and the cast, especially Ralph Fiennes, Michael Benz and Elizabeth Hopper, were excellent. I realized there were people in my row who didn't return after the interval, so apparently it really isn't for everyone's taste, but I had a wonderful evening. - Nanny | 07 Sep 11 |
