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Kirsty Harris Archive

Tara Arts

The Tempest

Photo by Robert Mountfort

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Jatinder Verma

Arts Theatre

9th - 27th January 2008

The Tempest is a tale of the twisted revenge that an insulted Duke, Prospero, takes out on his enemies as they wander the haunting island where he has been stranded with his daughter. The play looks at Prospero’s megalomania over not only those who have injured his pride but also the spirit of the island itself, in the form of the former residents, both physical and spectral.

The leaflet for Tara Theatre’s production of The Tempest compares the character of Prospero to Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s right-hand man. He is intelligent but a warped sense of personal justice leads him to do terrible things. On reading this, I became excited at the prospect of some refreshing, cross-cultural concepts that awaited the audience in the auditorium. This production sees through the description of an intellectual Prospero, but fails to elaborate on the contextualisation begun in the optional literature.

The piece is tentatively set in the Middle East, but a minimalist set by Claudia Mayer (comprising ropes hanging from above and back projections) doesn’t do enough to evoke such a potentially atmospheric place. The rope-work of the performers is impressive and simple movements create different locations with the cords with clever ease. The device of projecting images onto a stage set is one that can paint different worlds in an instant and probe issues with a mouse click. Unfortunately the choice of images that fade and slide-show across the back flats seem clumsily chosen, and I found myself enjoying the piece more once I paid these less attention.

Robert Mountford gives a calculating and measured performance as Prospero, if slightly too controlled in the earlier stages of the play to really engage with the audience. This portrayal unfolds poetically as he faces self-inflicted crisis of conscience. Mountford’s ability to change physicality and voice to also play the zany comic Trinculo is startling when juxtaposed to his central performance.

Caroline Kilpatrick’ Ariel, the spirit slave to Prospero, is refreshing in its force and virulence. She creates a striking sense of the accumulating madness her master’s hold is causing by using strange spasmodic movements, like a malfunctioning robot.

Tara’s production has an air of one-too-many theatrical devices about it, without letting a well-chosen few really work to put across their ideas to the audience. Without the flashing images and manipulated soundtrack perhaps the audience would be able to appreciate the playful tone of the performances and therefore the irony in the way Prospero plays and toys with the lives of his fellow characters.

The moments of stylised movement and those showing considered use of theatrical devices are all too short. Beneath the dramaturgical excess there are glimpses of some interesting and current ideas having been explored. I just wanted this to be condensed and taken further.