The Tempest, Waterloo East Theatre

By L. Darrall

The Waterloo East Theatre was the perfect setting in which to experience Sarah Redmond’s version of The Tempest; with the trains roaring overhead, one could be forgiven for imagining that the audience were in the seat of a storm breaking against the theatre.

On entering the space we were confronted by Ariel - the vibrant Chipo Kureya - dangling in a net, and a stage covered in bin bags and post-apocalyptic debris. The play opened with a bang, launching the audience into the climax of the storm with powerful and thronging choreography by Christian Valle, and an epic score which flowed throughout the piece composed by Daniel Gillingwater.

The ensemble attacked the movement and choreography with vigour, special note being given to Lucy Richards and Anna Britton who dominated the ensemble as the mesmeric and haunting spirits Iris and Ceres.

Moving away from the ethereal and on to the more humane side of The Tempest, it was Guy Woolf’s Ferdinand who stole the heart of, not only Miranda, but the entire audience to boot. With a beautiful openness and delightful, comic awkwardness he made the sometimes tricky wooing scenes feel natural and stomach-churningly fresh.

There were a couple of odd moments throughout the production: the comic scenes between the female Trincula, Stephano and Caliban needed stronger direction. They had the potential to be funny as all were capable actors, however, they seemed to meander rather than hit the audience with the belly laughs they deserved.

Caliban’s voice was often difficult to decipher (in a similar vain to Tom Hardy as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises). The physicality was strong but it was a shame that we lost a lot of the text because of the vocal choices.

The Tempest is a dark, magical journey of a play which suited Redmond’s post-apocalyptic concept; however, it was never made clear that it was supposed to be set in London, like the blurb suggested, and I felt it could have been even braver in following this concept through.

3 stars Waterloo East Theatre October 8th – 26th 2014

@PostScriptJour

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