According to an interview with Gregory Doran, its artistic director, the Royal Shakespeare Society wanted to make this production a fittng one for Shakespeare's 400th anniversary, particularly in terms of its use of modern technology, supposedly something which the Bard himself achieved - with different means of course - when the play was first performed in the 1610s.
This was most pointedly achieved in the use of motion capture technology for the presentation of a luminous Ariel, who floated above the stage, mirroring the efforts of the actions of the actor Mark Quartley on the stage. This wasn't bad, but why didn't they try to achieve something even more wizard-like with the critical scene with Stephano, Trinculo and Calaban, when Ariel manages to get Trinculo in a lot of trouble by mimicking his voice while his spirit is unseen by all three? Much better were the simulated backgrounds during the finale of Prsopero's magical presentation to the young lovers.
Simon Russell Beale does a truly impressive job of mirroring Prsopero's primal doubts: about giving up his magic, about losing his daughter, and about seeking revenge on those who have come under his power after his twelve years of exile on his magical isle. Simon Trinder and Tony Jawawardena do a marvelous job as Trinculo and Stephano: but buffoons are relatively easy to play, and the parts are admirably written to give rise to laughter. Jenny Rainsford and Daniel Easton were okay as the young lovers, but paled in comparison with their counterparts in the 2014 Globe Theatre production which, unfortunately for this version, I watched just before viewing this one.
Elly Condron, Jennifer Witton and Samantha Hay as the conjured goddesses literally 'stopped the show' in my mind with their beautiful singing.
This is a hard play to pull off as an integral whole, combining as I believe it does stories of familial revenge, young love and a large measure of comic relief, generally delivered in a slapstick manner. I truly admire the dedication and professionalism of this attempt, but Shakespeare set them a daunting task to combine these quite seemingly disparate parts into an integrated whole. That their achievement seemed to be missing something does not diminish my respect for their efforts.
