The Tempest - The Season of the World and Underworld

Synopsis

Prospero, Duke of Milan, his dukedom usurped by his brother Antonio, is put to sea with his daughter Miranda and some magical books smuggled in by his loyal councillor Gonzalo. The sea casts them up on an island where Prospero, exercising his magical powers, makes a home for himself and Miranda. One day a great storm, which Prospero has conjured, breaks up a passing ship and delivers to him the members of his usurping court. Treacherous brother, fellow conspirators and old friend alike come under Prospero's spell. Shakespeare's last play.

Our Review:

19 May 2005

At first sight, this Tempest bears some superficial resemblance to a cut-down production of Cymbeline that Mike Alfreds directed at the Globe in 2001. In that production, six actors played all the parts and the simplicity of the staging brought that most difficult play to life.

This time round, there are just three actors, three dancers and a small choir to tell the story. Director Tim Carroll explains that the use of the two trios of performers emphasise the importance of trinities within the play. In addition, Ariel and Caliban represent two sides of Prospero: the spiritual and the earthy. Such an interpretation, however, leaves little room for exploration of the themes of colonisation and conquest. And the idea of Caliban as some malevolent, dark force is a particularly old-fashioned view - most modern audiences sympathise with his desire for freedom.

Tellingly, in his programme notes, Carroll explains how he was taken...

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Latest User Review

81.79.247.206) - 24 September 2005:

Dreadful! Really dreadful. Confusing even to someone who is familiar with the play. Extremely irritating to be fobbed off with three actors and three dancers whose relevance escaped me entirely. Mark Rylance is extremely talented but his rather whiny delivery is entirely unsuitable for the powerful and sinister figure of Prospero. Having said that the audience cheered the perfomance with wild enthusiasm - so presumably they were all intimately knowledgeable about the text and had no difficulty in sorting out the characters. Well, bully for them....

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