THE TEMPEST. To 19 October.
Sheffield
THE TEMPEST
by William Shakespeare
Transfer to Old Vic, London to 15 March 2003.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm
Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm
TICKETS 020 7369 1722
Crucible Theatre To 19 October 2002
Tue-Sat 7.30pm Mat Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Runs 2hr 20min One interval
Audio-described/BSL Signed 17 October
TICKETS 0114 249 6000
Review Timothy Ramsden 3 October
A swift-paced, yet never hurried production which continually illuminates the script.An RSC Ariel spat at Prospero some years back, when the magic-wielding Duke of Milan finally gave him freedom on the island. Not so Daniel Evans' compliant spirit. He pads off with a lost look in downbeat response to the arrival of his long-awaited liberty.
There's been something of the faithful dog about Evans' Ariel throughout – in the lively, attentive, darting looks, the eagerness to please, the sad dog expression when Prospero ticks him off over his former suffering at the hand of foul witch Sycorax.
Derek Jacobi's Prospero, strong yet reasonable, has carried a bitterness about being deposed by his brother across his twelve year exile. Nor does he ever give up on life – when he says that, once returned home, every 'third thought' will be of his grave Jacobi flings the two words at the villainous Antonio and Sebastian – it's clear his other two thoughts will be of life, and they'd better not cross him.
But this is a Prospero who can learn about himself- he's clearly surprised at Ariel's near-casual comment about pitying his enemies. If this faithful creature, much-loved for 12 years, can sense the value of forgiveness, Prospero will find it too. It's an approach that makes his epilogue – throwing himself, magic staff broken, on the audience's mercy – unusually organic to the play.
While Claire Price's Miranda is a physically well-developed 16 year old, she creates a strong, trusting relationship with her father – apparently hearing his instruction to fall asleep and obeying, rather than seeming compelled by his magic spell.
Director Michael Grandage doesn't emphasise the colonisation theme, yet Louis Hilyer's dignified Caliban is a more-than-usually human creature, with a touching sense of grievance when asserting 'This island's mine'.
The production sacrifices a lot of the humour in his first meeting with the ship's crewmen, throwing instead a calculated emphasis on Caliban's liberation. It's the upbeat opposite to the later freeing of Ariel. Liberty in prospect, Hilyer stands tall, arms triumphantly raised in a grand posture resembling Prospero at his most majestic. Disabused of his drunken 'saviours', Hilyer's arms open again, towards Prospero, attempting to make contact with the man he sees as having usurped his right.
I found the Masque – rough magic or not – theatrically thin, especially given Christopher Oram's fake proscenium and four shell-like footlights. That apart, this is a fresh, invigorating, first-class Tempest.
Master of Ship/Spirit: Christian Mortimer
Boatswain: Peter Bygott
Alonso: Robert East
Antonio: Richard Clifford
Gonzalo: John Nettleton
Sebastian: David Mara
Mariner/Spirit: Chris Polick
Miranda: Claire Price
Prospero: Derek Jacobi
Ariel: Daniel Evans
Caliban: Louis Hilyer
Ferdinand: Sam Callis
Trinculo: Iain Robertson
Stephano: Richard Clothier
Director: Michael Grandage
Designer: Christopher Oram
Lighting: Hartley T.A. Kemp
Composer: Julian Philips
Movement: Scarlett Mackmin
2002-10-09 12:21:18