Kenneth Branagh returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company after more than 30 years to play Prospero, along with a notable public presence. His Prospero moves quickly through the role, with a playful tone that feels less fully inhabited. The production’s impact comes from its theatrical design and ensemble execution. Richard Eyre directs with an overt sense of performance, casting Prospero as a conductor who orchestrates the opening storm from a music stand. Back-screen visuals reveal gurgling waves, while drums, lightning, and thunder create dramatic crash and impact. Ariel performs with acrobatic movement and song, and Prospero and Ariel share a clear chemistry. Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo stage rebellion with a music-hall comedy flavor, with Caliban presented as an indentured slave rather than a grotesque monster.
"Kenneth Branagh is said to have played 35 Shakespearean parts, albeit back in the day. Seeing him speaking in verse these days is something of an event, all the more so when he is making a return to the Royal Shakespeare Company after more than 30 years to take on, for the first time, Shakespeare's magician, deposed duke and tyrant occupier. Even the king turned up for it some days ago. Branagh's Prospero initially follows in the vein of his fast and feverish King Lear, performed in the West End in 2023."
"He casts Prospero as a conductor on this isle of sweet airs and noise and he conjures the opening storm from a music stand, orchestrating the action as a back-screen opens up to a magnificent vista of gurgling waves, the circular stage listing, the sound of drums, lightning and thunder creating a very theatrical sense of crash, bang and wallop. Prospero is bringing on a storm that will return his usurping brother to him, for vengeance, but he is also hailing in a polished cabaret or circus act, of which he is master."
"Everyone plays their part: Ariel (Amara Okereke) looks like a trapeze artist, acrobatically afloat, a delight for her beautiful movement and song, and there is unspoken love in the chemistry between Prospero and Ariel. The scenes featuring Caliban (Ashley Zhangazha), Stephano (Guy Henry) and Trinculo (Keir Charles) as they plot rebellion, wink toward a music hall comedy sketch. It seems significant that Caliban is not monstrous or grotesque in any way but resembles an indentured slave."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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