Almost Tempting

THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare

Belvoir Street Theatre.
Review: Carrie Kablean.

Amid a chaotic shipwreck, with passengers cast adrift, Prospero, usurped Duke of Milan and now magician-ruler of his isle of exile, calmly bestirs a tempest in a tin tub, a final powerful spell to unite past wrongs and bring love and reconciliation.
It's a promising start to Neil Armfield's production of The Tempest, first staged at Belvoir Street in 1990, and rightly praised for its original and fresh look at the Bard's last play.

However, the production is not without its problems. For all the vividness of the storm scene I found, from my vantage point in the back row, the voices were swallowed up in the turmoil. Things improved slightly when the aircon moved down a gear but it wasn't the only time diction was inadequate - perhaps the sand-strewn stage absorbs sound.

Brian Thomson's set, together with excellent lighting, provide some magical backdrops and there are some fine performances.
My strongest impression is that made by Caliban, played by Kevin Smith.

This "hag-born" man monster was once the ruler and sole custodian of this isle, and Smith imbues him with a kind of desperate dignity even as he is reviled and enslaved by Prospero, and later plied with drink by the winesoaked butler Stephano and jester Trinculo.

Cate Blanchett has a translucent quality which was well suited to her portrayal of the unwordly, 15-year old Miranda, whose awakening to love at first sight of that "wondrous creature" Ferdinand, the King of Naples' son, and a life outside her tiny island, is touching and humorous in its childlike simplicity.

Not as simplistic is Barry Otto's Prospero, who would, in today's parlance, be labeled a control freak. Here is a man who has been usurped of his dukedom, exiled by his own brother, who has his daughter and Caliban in his direct power, who has pressed the sprite Ariel (Gillian Jones, not looking at all androgynous) into reluctant service, and has the ability to conjure up storms to bring his enemies to his door.

Yet Otto's Prospero is a little remote. There was no thunderous rage and the portrayal of quiet retribution seemed rather subdued. Perhaps this is why his brother Antonio - who, as played by David Roberts, seemed to lack a core of malevolence - could usurp him so easily?

But Otto's subtle performance was most moving towards the end of the play when Prospero sets his charges free.
As for Stephano (Keith Robinson) and Trinculo (Jacek Koman), they are very fine drunks indeed and very funny - at first. The problem is that like most drunks, one soon tires of them.

This is Belvoir Street's 10th anniversary and the inaugural 1995 for Company B. Although I found aspects of the first -night show disappointing, I suspect, given the calibre of the whole team, the subsequent performances will have improved enormously.

Sunday Telegraph, June 4th, 1995

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Aussie Cate Online © 1999 Lin, Dean, Lance
800x600 screen size recommended.

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