‘The Tempest’ review
‘an incredible watch - it felt like there was something going on everywhere all the time’
As soon as I stepped into the Mount Oswald Hub to watch Oswald’s Players’ rendition of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I was struck with complete awe at the beauty of the set. Designed by Prospero Jones and assisted by Clem Charles, the scarves used to imitate seaweed and the flowers that framed the moorland backdrop, along with its blue lighting (designed by Tom Rickman and operated throughout by Issac Organ and Abbie Wells) truly immersed me in the world of the play before it had even started. In addition, the audience was laid out in a very atypical yet successful manner, with several columns of chairs separated by individual pathways. This, along with the decision of Director Sylvia Gardner and Assistant Director Mika Trench to seat me specifically on the end of the third row, made it extremely clear to me going in that this would not be an ordinary theatre experience by any means.
I was instantly proven right. The iconic shipwreck scene that opens the play had all the actors in question placed betwixt the audience itself, perfectly replicating a storm. The rest of the play utilised the audience space in equal measure, something that could have only been accomplished with such a careful hand as Jack Radcliffe’s movement direction. Particular highlights in this regard are Ariel (Sam Garratt) and Caliban (Kian Standbridge), both actors who used this extra space to their full advantage, creating a closer relationship with the audience in doing so. In addition, Prospero’s (Ben Oliver) relationship with the stage was fascinating; dominating whichever space acted in opposition to the rest of the cast with full force.
One of the true centres of this production, as well as this play as a whole, stands in its relationship between the fantastic and the mundane. Gardner absolutely nailed this in every capacity. As mentioned above, the constant separation of Prospero and the rest of the cast, whether it be from a height perspective or a staging perspective, made him strike immediately as different in the best way possible. In addition, Gardner notably chose to have Antonio (Icarus Gilbert), Sebastian (Jack Taylor-Torney), Alonso (Sophie Partis), and Gonzalo (Emilia Cynarska) almost exclusively stage left, whereas characters like Caliban and Ariel always enter stage right. Stage left and stage right are notoriously associated with evil and good respectively, so to have ‘mundane’ and ‘fantastic’ be used as synonymous with these ideas was an inspired choice.
Rickman’s lighting design also reflected this idea, having orange be used to show the mundane and purple be used to show the fantastic. The costumes, designed by Irini Sozomenou, deserve their own commendation. There was a clear contrast between the fantastic colourful shirts and skirts work by Miranda, Ariel, and Prospero, and the mundane monochrome suits worn by the rest of the cast; this made Prospero’s eventual transition to a suit all the more poignant.
Oliver managed to convey every single emotion Prospero could have possibly experienced within the first 5 minutes of his entry. The balance between the caring helicopter parent and the powerful, conniving mage is a very difficult one to get right, but Oliver blew me away. The subtleties in his changing of delivery from the fantastic to the mundane, from the controller to the emotional is one that remained noticable throughout the entire play. His chemistry with Miranda (Ivy Harper) is telling throughout, acting the perfect father and daughter to one another. Harper’s acting is also one that deserves kudos, embodying the stroppy teenager just as much as she did the optimistic lover. This manages to play off Ferdinand (Charlie Breay) beautifully, as Breay embodied the lovesick Shakespearian hero perfectly.
Absolutely no review of this production could be complete without mentioning Sam Garratt, aperson who stole the stage from his first entrance. Garratt’s physical embodiment of Ariel reminded me of one of those inflatable tube men you see at the car wash in the best way possible. Between his excellent physical and verbal comedy, I couldn’t imagine Ariel any other way. With further regards to the comedic timing of this production, Stefano (Becky Gould), Trinculo (Rufus Brierley), and Caliban formed a captivating trio, and the fast comedic rhythm of their scene with Garratt made for one of the most memorable scenes of the entire play. Gould and Brierley performed their scenes with an aura of drunkenness enhanced by the props they carried in every scene (designed by Elena Bromidge), and Standbridge matched their drunken energy by forming the true embodiment of madness itself.
In direct contrast to this, Antonio, Sebastian, Alonso, Gonzalo, and Boastwain (Tom Holbrook) performed the more serious elements of the play excellently. Gilbert’s calm tone as Antonio in particular really brought out the more sinister elements of production, and the way they played off Taylor-Tourney’s Sebastian and Oliver’s Prospero made for a darkly compelling piece. Similarly, Partis’ Alonso stood with dignity throughout, her somber tone grounding the play. My only complaint about this production is that it felt too short. Performing an abridged version of an already short play meant that I felt like I had only just got to know the characters by the end of the hour!
All in all, The Tempest was an incredible watch - it felt like there was something going on everywhere all the time, and the incredible talents of this entire company could have benefitted from the full version of Shakespeare’s classic.
By Amelia Awan.
The Tempest is showing at the Mount Oswald Hub on Monday 9th March at 7pm.