THEATRE REVIEW: The Tempest
- Posted on January 14, 2008 4:27 PM
- 1 comment
TARA Presents: The Tempest
Thursday 10th Jan
The Arts Theatre, London
- Review By Zarina Raja
I think everyone needs to have a little Shakespeare in their lives, especially if you go to the theatre as much as I do. A dose of Shakespeare brings you back to life. All those rambling words (they don’t really ramble, they actually make a lot of sense by the way) slap you round the face, wakening your theatrical senses to some classic English literature in play format. Admittedly, there are occasions when I find Shakespeare a bit of a drag; (is that blasphemy in the world of lit?) not because of the content, just because of my own inept capacity to follow a twisting Shakespearean tale. But The Tempest was no drag, I tell'st thou.
I think the key to holding the attention of a modern day audience is to modernize the plays themselves. By keeping Shakespeare word for word but garnishing it with a contemporary feel, Shakespeare jumps to life and reaches out to those who may have been giving their eyes a little rest just after the first Act.
Tara Arts has positively grabbed hold of this concept and carefully entwined it through Shakespeare’s classic, The Tempest. As a pioneer in cross cultural theatre, Tara Arts has gorgeously blended the West with East – an issue that is highly prominent in today’s fragile political climate.
The Tempest’s characters adopt an Islamic way of living. There are many prayer scenes and Islamic actions such as the performance of cleansing the body before one prays.
One may be sceptical about this dramatic twist to the classic Shakespearean vibe, but personally, it lifted the performance for me. Not only could you bury yourself in the hidden meanings within Shakespeare, but you could also seek out references to the modern day struggles of East and West.
Directed by Jantinder Verma, The Tempest cleverly subverts the thoughts of the audience by dressing Prospero in Islamic attire. Prospero, an exiled and heavily bitter man, controls the island with his dark magic. Prospero hauntingly mirrors Osma Bin Laden’s side kick, al- Zawhiri, who tries to control the West from a cave concealed in an Afghanistan mountain, desperate to avenge.
The set is very basic, delightfully stripping theatre back to basics. Only a few ropes swing from the ceiling and are used as the characters props to the scene.
Each character is powerfully acted out, easily adapting to the Islamic take on The Tempest. Quintessentially, this is why everyone needs a sprinkling of Shakespeare in their lives; there is so much passion, fury, anger and love in Shakespeare that all you can do is watch, fixated and charged. It drags theatre back to simplicity, allowing its audience to be engrossed by some great, stage-spitting acting.
A brilliant performance from the cast and a wonderfully unique spin on a Shakespearean classic.
Check out Tara Arts for more details: http://www.tara-arts.com/
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Comments (1)
jon
it looks poop and should not be shown again
Posted on March 27, 2008 11:13 AM
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