Royal Shakespeare Company: The Tempest

When the lead actor fails for you, it's hard to critique the rest of the play fairly. Simon Russell Beale spoke most of the time in a monotone, seriously undercutting his performance for me. It's a shame, because in some places his acting was good, especially in the final act and the epilogue, and throughout the play he managed to bring out Prospero's anger in a way I hadn't seen before. Yet because of the monotone, it was hard for me to feel that anger.

The use of motion capture for Ariel and video backgrounds worked very well - I was awed and entranced by the goddess scene especially. It was disconcerting, the first time Ariel appeared in person, to see the zipper on his bodysuit. Caliban's costuming was more intriguing than in other productions I've seen, but he lacked the underlying menace he usually has. And I could have done without Trinculo literally being painted as a clown. We get it, Mr. Doran, we got it already.

The rest of the cast was fine, but nobody stood out for me. Even though this version could be considered definitive since it includes virtually the complete text, it's not one I'd care about seeing again (unlike Christopher Plummer's). Except for that goddess scene.