The Acting About production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest has a young cast, carrying off the performance with an engaging enthusiasm and charming sincerity.

Very briefly, for those unfamiliar with the plot: ageing sorcerer Prospero (Laurence Dobiesz) is the usurped duke of Milan, now exiled to an enchanted island where he lives with his daughter Miranda (Gina Abolins). With the help of his spirit-servant Ariel (Suzy Silva-Shattock) he summons the titular tempest in order to wreck the ship carrying – amongst others – Alonso, King of Naples (Top Padley), his son Ferdinand (Thomas Brooks), and Antonio, the very brother who stole his dukedom some twelve years ago (Tyler Coombes). Misadventures happen, shipwrecked mariners are bewitched, and everything sorts its self out in good Shakespearian comic style – nobody dies and the young people wind up married.

Technically, the production is highly competent. There is not a weak performance to be seen, and the direction (by Christopher North, who also does a fine turn as Caliban) is strong. Music, lighting, dance, and for that matter the sets (a simple rocky landscape modelled – so the programme says – out of roof insulating foam) combine to produce a genuine sense of magic. The dialogue is delivered naturalistically and accessibly, never does anybody fall into the old trap of Declaiming Lines From Shakespeare when they should be playing their character.

Two things, however, lift the performance above the competition. Firstly, everybody is clearly giving it their all, and putting their heart and soul into their performance. Secondly, there are some genuine star turns by the principals. Dobiesez, while a little young for Prospero (always a problem with youth or student productions), has real charisma, and brings out a slightly manic, and faintly sinister side to the character that is often lost. He carries a number of difficult and (still worse) famous speeches with originality and aplomb (again hats go off to the direction). The temptation is always to hit the famous lines, but Dobiesez resists, and so he can tell us that "we are such things as dreams are made on" as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

Gina Abolins as Miranda gives an equally fine performance, albeit a very different one. She handles the role of one of Shakespeare's less interesting heroines the only way one really can. She embraces it fully, being so utterly sweet, wide-eyed, sparkly and innocent, that you can't help but get caught up in it. Suzy Silva-Shattock makes a lively and cheerfully alien Ariel, the simple trick of having Ariel miced and everybody else unplugged, giving the spirit an unearthly omnipresence was simply inspired. The comic relief is also well represented, with Tom Sindall playing a remarkably funny Stephano.

In short, it's a charming performance of one of Shakespeare's better comedies, with a fine cast of promising young actors. It's definitely worth your time and money.

Dan Hemmens, 13/09/2005