The Stage

The Tempest

Published Monday 14 June 2010 at 10:40 by Catherine Usher

Outdoors and in the round, the simple surroundings ensure all the powers of persuasion are employed by the Oxford Shakespeare Company to convey the desert island setting.

There is a strong reliance on the skills of the actors and the illustrative quality of their costumes to establish the scene and fortunately both are first rate. Dressed in regal-looking robes and with a reserved yet authoritative air, Michael Hadley is a suitably sombre Prospero.

Miranda’s grungy, distressed prom dress goes a great way to demonstrate her youth, exuberance and naivety. Rose pink to denote her soft nature teamed with DM boots to indicate her teenage rebelliousness, her dress is an imaginative visual indication of her character and certainly helps Sophie Franklin make her mark in the role.

Playing both the princely Ferdinand and the savage Caliban, Richard Pryal is given the perfect opportunity to showcase his versatility. He uses posture and movement to emphasise the contrasting roles - ramrod straight one moment and stooping and animalistic the next. The way in which he changes from one character to another on stage in the middle of a scene is a brave move and it works wonderfully.

Matthew Fraser Holland’s impish Ariel is also a joy and again his punky attire with a spiky hairstyle that resembles devils horns also shows how the visual element of the production has been so carefully crafted.

The musical accompaniment is refreshing and innovative in the capable hands of composer Nick Lloyd Webber. The lord’s son makes a playful nod to the work of his father in the number Contract of Love which features nonsense lyrics and a merry musicals-style happy ever after tone - it’s a fitting and amusing way of acknowledging his heritage.

Surely it is fine to be a bit playful at times when the rest of the production is as polished as this.

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