One of the reasons why Shakespeare’s plays have remained so attractive to modern audiences is the vast array of possibilities inherent in their simple settings. Directors and designers can allow their imagination to range freely through the ‘wood without Athens’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night’s Ilyria and the forest of Arden.
Janice Honeyman has conjured a very African enchanted isle for the RSC’s current Tempest, now on tour. The production, which boasts Antony Sher as Prospero, is in association with The Baxter Theatre Centre of South Africa. Honeyman allows an intriguing debate about slavery and colonialism to flourish within The Tempest rather than imposing 21st century politics upon Shakespeare’s last play. It is no mean achievement to tease out detailed nuances within the text that allow Ariel to have great influence over his master and provoke genuine sympathy for a Caliban cheated of his birthright by unfeeling foreigners.
The set and the music are worth the ticket price alone. Giant puppets invade the multi-layered stage and onstage performers render the play’s many musical interludes into spectacular soundscapes.
The RSC bring the play in at a trim 2 hours, courtesy of judicious cuts to some of the more tedious sections, particularly from the comic and courtly subplots.
Strong performances from Sher, Tinarie Van Wyk Loots as Miranda and Atandwa Kani as Ariel, combined with the scale of Honeyman’s vision and ambition, deliver an excellent evening. It is a shame to have to leave this particular enchanted island.
