“the music kept the action pacey, and the audience on their toes”
Controlled Chaos Theatre’s all-female Tempest was a charming, well-shaped piece of storytelling, in which all the cast clearly believed. Arriving at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, the reception by staff was warm and friendly. It was wonderful to see a diverse mix of ages in the audience, which I hope the company’s interpretation continues to attract. A strong and supportive cast each had moments of sparkling stage presence, and director Dylan Lincoln clearly cares about the importance of Shakespeare’s carefully created characters. It is well-worth a watch.
Immediately from the opening scene, in which all the soon-to-be shipwrecked characters sing a brawling sailor song, the audience was immersed in the world of the play. Pretty and often clean visual direction made the piece very watchable: a highlight was the beginning, when the sailors played the unison motion of a storm-tossed boat. I couldn’t help feeling that the eerie wedding scene needed a bit more jollity, but, overall, striking signposts kept all in the auditorium engaged.
Occasionally, there were line blunders; and where some actors channelled nuance into their performances, others seemed to be reciting, more than playing with conviction. Compelling performances by Carmella Brown’s magnetic Ariel; Kate Sketchley’s powerfully tragic and masterfully oratorical Caliban; and nimbly played comic duos, Trinculo & Stephano and Sebastian & Antonio, anchored the piece. Jo Bartlett’s Prospero balanced tyranny and sympathy convincingly. Michelle Pittoni as Miranda and Hannah Jessop as Ferdinand were an irresistible pair of lovers, which delighted the audience. The especially detailed pair interactions between all cast members are where this production really came into its own.
The subtle, well-executed costume and set design communicated the island setting to the audience: fishing nets woven with shells hung on the walls; the playing space was punctuated by small logs; and the back of the stage had painted green accents to suggest foliage. The lighting design was simple, but effectively communicated tonal shifts, and aided the creation of Prospero’s dreamlike microcosm. Sound was used more-or-less throughout, with some scenes even being underscored. This is a very pleasing choice, for a script which is so musical. Live music offerings, arranged by Michael Halliday, were beautiful and often entrancingly eerie, Ariel’s flute and lilting folk songs being the deftest touch. Some of the sound design was a little derivative: here, the magical ambiguity of the world could have been trusted a bit more, and decisions could have been bolder. However, the music kept the action pacey, and the audience on their toes.
Although the cast was all-female, all the masculine pronouns in the text were not altered. Trinculo and Stephano played to male, ‘laddy’ stereotypes. The company aims ‘to try to redress the balance of British theatre, by encouraging more people from diverse backgrounds to engage with the theatre world, both on stage and off, including giving women a chance to take centre stage in the male dominated classics’. This is certainly an urgent and important ethos, but altering the pronouns of the text would have perhaps carried the choice to cast all women to the next level, thus deepening the interpretation. That said, this is a considerate and joyous staging of an entrancing and unwieldy play.
“Joshua Bhima and Robert Magasa delivered a truly memorable Ariel”
On my way to see the Tempest in the Greenwich Theatre I felt slightly nervous. This great play has been reinterpreted, reimagined, and rediscovered so many times, yet the well of new ideas inspired by Shakespeare’s classic seems bottomless. So it would be interesting to see what new spin international theatre company Bilimankhwe Arts, could come up with.
The production adapted and directed by Kate Stafford promised an engaging and ambitious spectacle. The cast included actors of African, Caribbean, and British heritage. This instantly brought to mind one of the core interpretations of the origins of the play, concerning the adventures of Sir George Somers and his peers, who got lost on their way to Jamestown, Virginia, and were cast instead on Bermuda.
The play was intriguing from the start, welcoming the audience with what at first appeared to be two native men engaged in a mysterious, sensual dance, accompanied by incredible (live!) Malawian music. It soon became apparent that these men were in fact two faces of Ariel, the spirit who serves the main protagonist, Prospero.
Splitting Ariel into two worked wonderfully. One of Shakespeare’s assets, which is universally loved but also difficult to perform, is his ability to create magical worlds full of wondrous creatures and dream-like scenarios. Ariel was played by two talented Malawian actors Joshua Bhima and Robert Magasa. I have no doubt that these men imparted most of the surreal atmosphere that accompanied us so successfully throughout the play. They always appeared on the simply set stage together, often dancing (choreography by Shyne Phiri) or singing hypnotically, sometimes just watching but never for one second abandoning their character. They delivered a truly memorable Ariel.
There was an interesting casting choice in Victoria Jeffrey as Trinculo. After the initial confusion, I found myself really enjoying what this brought; now we had a brilliantly portrayed drunken butler (Benedict Martin) with a drunken female jester who delivered subtly and hilariously changed lines. The monster himself, Caliban (Stanley Mambo), was powerfully characterised, often pitiful but then portraying a sadness that could bring tears. Young Miranda (Cassandra Hercules) and Ferdinand (Reice Weathers) were humorous, innocent, and full of life. If a little crude, they were very likeable.
Prospero, as the central figure was unfortunately disappointing. He seemed visibly uncomfortable standing on stage and watching the unfolding of the events. His wisdom, cunning, kindness, and charisma was somehow lost in the mostly angry or nonchalant portrayal by Christopher Brand. Understandably, he wasn’t meant to be depicted as a positive character, but the climax of the play was lost since Prospero didn’t seem to feel entirely himself as a magician.
It seemed that issues relating to colonialism, race, and relinquished freedom were the main inspiration for Kate Stafford. The atmosphere of the play was enriched and made more soulful because of such a diverse cast but I couldn’t help wondering if the director’s vision of the play, would not have come across stronger, if the foremost message of the work wasn’t lost in the meantime. We never met Alonso the King, Sebastian his brother, Antonio, Adrian or Gonzalo. The play mostly held together without their lines, although I missed the sharp and witty exchanges and the comfort of the unequivocally wise and kind Gonzalo. However, the last scene in which Prospero forgives all the wrongdoers became significantly weaker and less touching due to there being fewer of them to forgive for their scheming.
Perhaps the quality of acting wasn’t completely consistent but the play offered a number of exciting ideas that could be developed and perfected in the future. The Malawian music, the terrifying, dreamlike, outstanding Ariel(s) and the complex character of Caliban will stay in my mind unchanged for a long time.
