North Wall Arts Centre, Tue December 9th - Sat December 13th 2008 |
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I thought that perhaps the lights were about to up and the cast from High School Musical would parade onto the stage in an explosion of glitter. Well, what would you think if you found yourself in a theatre where the ratio of screaming 13 year old girls to adults was roughly 80:20? I decided to force this to the edge of my mind and try to not let the fact we were in the middle of a school trip ruin the evening ahead of me. Act one, scene one of this production of Shakespeare's The Tempest certainly grasps you by the collar and makes you sit bolt upright - your full attention is on the action as you join the story in the middle of a frightful storm on a ship. High production values made for a great set, atmospheric sound effects and dramatic lighting. The characters clung to each other for dear life and ran back and forth to successfully create the illusion that the stage was indeed the deck of a ship, rolling to and fro with potentially life threatening results. Then; all is calm. An angelic girl's face appears in the top left of the set and begins to sing a tune softly. You later find out that this girl is Ariel - a powerful spirit who had been trapped by Sycorax the witch on this mysterious island. Ariel was played by Susanne Sheehy, and she quickly became one of my favourite characters in the play. Brilliant acting by an actress who resembled a very beautiful, ballet-dancing Tinkerbell. Another stand-out actor was Dominic Bullock, who played the sorcerer Prospero. His piercing glare and crystal clear voice sent shivers down my spine. Superb. He utilised the two-level set to its full potential. Upstairs, above the main stage, was a second level covered by a sort of muslin cloth stretched tight. This created the perfect representation of Prospero's omniscience over his island, from behind which he could watch the action like a grand, looming figure of doom (wearing a rather excellent magician's cape). Alex Nicholl's Caliban was also spot on. Actually, the acting was of an incredibly high standard from everyone. It was a perfect evening where you either found yourself silent in awe, or laughing at the moments of wonderfully directed comic relief. Sections of dance and singing were weaved into the story masterfully. I did think at one point 'Am I really witnessing this?', when a bare-chested Ferdinand (played by Alfred Enoch) was repeatedly wolf-whistled by members of the High School Musical collective. However, their thunderous applause made up for their terrible behaviour throughout the play - I'm glad they enjoyed such high-brow entertainment. It was a brilliant play. I urge you to go and see it - if only so you'll then understand what John Fowles is going on about in The Magus. Ben McKechnie, 10/12/08 |
Hanan Abdalla (Miranda) and Alfred Enoch (Ferdinand) Latest Theatre reviews: Review of the day:
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