True to the early tradition of the Bard, the all male Lord Chamberlain's Men gave a faithful retelling of this tale of shipwreck and magic.
While today’s audiences may be unused to the habit of actors dressing up in women’s clothing and playing female leads, within moments the fact that Miranda was actually a man was forgotten and the small but enthusiastic crowd was drawn into a world of sprites, royalty and love at first sight.
Craig Gordon as Ariel delivered an elegant and balletic performance as the all-singing, all-dancing sprite.
Prospero, played by Matt Bannister, was powerful yet truly earnest for his daughter’s well-being – a trait not often emphasised in other re-enactments of The Tempest.
With such a small cast of players the doubling up of parts was a little confusing at times. However, this is exactly what Shakespearian audiences would have expected so working out which actors were now playing which roles was all part of the fun.
Combine this slight confusion with the somewhat halting performances at the start and an audience member could be forgiven for losing interest in the play to concentrate on their picnics, the magnificent surroundings of Eastnor Castle and its grounds, not to mention the flock of cooing birds overhead throughout.
The actors were in fine spirits to combat this and rallied for the following scenes to captivate the attention and recreate the island drama.
Even the persistent bird calls managed to enrich the atmosphere to evoke the island setting and the more forcefully actors delivered their lines the more they echoed across the valley to add an eerie quality to Shakespeare’s dialogue.
With Mother Nature getting involved in the action, the play could be nothing less than a resounding success, but luckily for the audience and their picnics Prospero’s words weren’t enough to enlist the attendance of a real tempest.
