The Tempest
Performed at The Attic Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Thursday 03 April 2025 until 26 April.
The Tempest’s tale of revenge and forgiveness powerfully conveyed by Tread the Boards.
The Tempest is a tale of revenge. Prospera (Sarah Feltham) has been betrayed by her brother and the king of a rival kingdom, so she and her daughter Miranda (Emily Tietz) are banished to a desert island.
The chance for revenge came when her enemy’s ship was passing close by and Prospera, who had studied magic whilst in exile, caused a terrific storm to shipwreck them. This was cleverly enacted at the start of the play with stage in full darkness. The shouts of the crew in the blackness emphasised the chaos.
Prospera controlled a spirit Ariel (Nicole Rainford) and Caliban (George Ormerod), her slave. Nicole was marvellous throughout, full of energy and with a beautiful voice whenever she sang. George’s makeup was exceptional. He was dirty with blackened teeth and covered in seaweed and barnacles. He malevolently gave voice to his loathing of his mistress.
Prospera separated Alonso the king of Naples (Edward Manning), who was one of Prospera’s betrayers, and his son Ferdinand (Matt Rouseau), who were shipwrecked on different parts of the island and thus thought that the other was dead.
Prospera had been betrayed by her power-hungry brother Antonio (Pete Meredith), who was also washed up on the island. Pete was believably devious, plotting with Sebastien, Alonso’s sister, to murder Alonso so they could have even greater power. Prospera thwarted Antonio and Sebastien, whilst at the same time causing Ferdinand and Miranda to fall in love. All these characters portrayed their roles convincingly.
There was an extensive comic scene with Rob Keeves was the wild haired Stephano, getting increasingly drunk with Trinculo (Emmeline Braefield) and Caliban. The sea shanty and choreography with all the cast before the interval were particularly well done.
The scenes when several cast members appeared as spirits weaving around the speaking cast and Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban being tormented by giant dogs’ heads restored the drama after the comedy. These heads and other puppets such as a full sized maggot-ridden skeleton were designed by Adam Clarke and were very effective. Crew members Olivia Holmes and Kat Murray used sound and light, respectively, to enhance the production. Tread The Boards gave a top quality performance in the first of two Shakespeare productions this month. Henry V starts at The Attic on 11 April.
Tickets from The Tempest – The Attic Theatre / Tread the Boards