The Tempest
Novello Theatre, The Aldwych, London 28 February to 24 March 2007
The Royal Shakespeare Company present Shakespeare's play The Tempest starring
Patrick Stewart.
Shakespeare's magical last play, his poignant farewell to the stage - has
love, tragedy and comedy combined in equal measure. The usurped Prospero
draws his enemies to his enchanted island to exact his revenge, yet ultimately
finds peace and the ability to forgive.
The Tempest is directed by Rupert Goold with designs by Giles Cadle and
Nicky Gillibrand and the cast is lead by Patrick Stewart as 'Prospero' along
with Mariah Gale as 'Miranda' and John
Light as 'Caliban'. The production
comes into London following a season at the RSC's home in Stratford.
"This is the freshest British reconception of The Tempest in at least
fifteen years: fresh both to those well-acquainted with the play and to those
coming to it for the first time" Financial Times
"Rupert Goold's new production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Stratford opens with a stunningly choreographed storm that has special effcts
worthy of a Steven Spielberg blockbuster... The Tempest is still a hugely
impressive production, an almighty triumph of style over substance... Patrick
Stewart was a Shakespearean actor of some note before he made his name in
films and it is his immaculate stagecraft that gives Goold's Tempest a living,
beating heart." The Sunday Telegraph
"Rupert Goold's revival of The Tempest is an eccentric success in an
absorbing and exciting evening" The Times
"Patrick Stewart is a superb and complex Prospero: a bitterly abusive
supremacist, spitting at Caliban, but tenderly loving as well as domineering
father. Mariah Gale is a sweetly gawky Miranda, stiff with isolation yet
innocently swift to adore mankind as the play moves towards tricky reconciliations." The
Independent on Sunday
"Patrick Stewart is a spellbinding Prospero in a remarkable production" The
Guardian
"Rupert Goold's production is full of such stunning visual-anthropological
touches, making a dark, visceral and mesmerising Tempest out of what has
too often been played as a rather airy and intellectual play. Patrick Stewart's
Prospero is certainly no airy intellectual, serenely forgiving his enemies,
bringing young lovers together and saying a fond farewell to his art. He's
a tormented and embittered magician with a tattooed skull, vexed to the bitter
end... A tremendous and wildly original production." The Sunday Times
Audience's reviews:
Overall an impressive performance from the RSC even if
it was a little over time and could of benefited from a speedier and more
captivating pace. Patrick Stewart gave another consistant albeit perhaps
a bit similar performance as the lead of this strong cast. The special effects
were stunning and did much to enhance the plays magical and spiritual content.
Lucy Vallance (18),
Torquay
