As the performance opens, there is the sound effect of a storm, and the entire stage becomes the boat. Prospero (David Melville) stands downstage center, and opens an umbrella, which signals the start of the storm, a wonderful touch. He then exits before the dialogue among the mariners. All the characters on stage shout “We split, we split,” and then it is if they have gone into the water, which we can see by their well-choreographed movements. By the way, this season the stage itself is split into three sections. There is a center section close to the audience, positioned over some rocks and a riverbed (though no water is running in it now), and behind it a section to the left and one to the right. Interestingly, those two sections give the feel of being backstage, as it seems the back of the flats are facing the audience. While the tempest has its way with those on the boat, Miranda (Carene Mekertichyan) watches through binoculars upstage right. This is a modern dress production. Prospero’s magic garment is nothing special to look at, and so when he first mentions his “magic garment,” the line gets a laugh. It also draws a greater distinction between him and the spirits of the island, showing that he is still an outsider to this place.
In the text, apart from the spirits in the pageant, Miranda is the only female character. In this production, Prospero’s brother Antonio becomes his sister Antonia (Carine Montbertrand), and the king’s brother Sebastian becomes his sister Sebastiane (also played by Carene Mekertichyan). It is interesting that the two murderous characters are women here. Also, a woman plays the character Adrian (that is Darian Ramirez). Having so many women of course gives Miranda fewer men to look upon before she delivers her famous “How many goodly creatures are there here” speech, which perhaps lessens the humor of it. We do have a male Ariel, however, which is a welcome change from most productions (the character is male in the text). Played by Paul Turbiak, Ariel has distinctive appearance, with a strip of blue across his eyes, and black feathers at his neck and shoulders. His voice, facial expressions and movements also set him apart from the other characters. The entire cast is excellent (which is the norm for this company), but Paul Turbiak gives a particularly remarkable performance. After Prospero tells him that his charge “exactly is perform’d,” Ariel starts to leave upstage. Then, as Prospero continues his speech, “but there’s more work,” Ariel’s expression and disposition change, as he is more concerned that Prospero will not free him as promised. Ariel makes us feel for him immediately, and he shows submission rather than anger in that early scene.
Also delivering a fantastic performance is Jose Acain as Caliban, who frightens Miranda upon his initial entrance (and might frighten some of the audience as well). There is a delightful wildness about him, and we see a constant inner struggle between what might be his natural inclinations and the deportment Prospero has taught him and expects of him. Like Ariel, Caliban has his own particular way of moving. He also has green makeup surrounding one eye, which helps to set him apart. Caliban gives a wicked and pleased laugh after Prospero mentions his attempted violation of Miranda. Before that moment, the audience can’t help but care for him. And even after that, it’s not long before we feel for him again.
Ariel, with the help of two other spirits, leads Ferdinand (Patrick Batiste) with a song. Ferdinand seems truly tormented by this song, particularly when it reminds him of his father, whom he presumes dead. It’s an excellent moment. Ferdinand is in modern clothes, but does have a sword. Xavi Moreno does a wonderful job as both Gonzalo and Trinculo, shining particularly as Trinculo, the performance having a delightful innocence. There is a lot of doubling of roles in this production, and Brent Charles plays both Alonso (the king) and Stephano. As with Moreno, Charles seems to have much more fun with the more comedic role, and the song he sings upon entering as Stephano received some applause from the crowd last night. It is not an easy thing to play drunk, and both Charles and Moreno do a good job of it. When Ariel helps Trinculo to stand, Trinculo of course shows some surprise, which is another nice moment. Ariel, by the way, does a great job of imitating Trinculo’s voice. Caliban uses his song about having a new master to engage Stephano and Trinculo, as well as the audience. And then later when the music frightens Trinculo and Stephano, Caliban smiles, taking great joy in the hearing of it. Regardless of how his attempted violation of Miranda may have made the audience feel, in this moment everyone has at least some fondness for the character.
The budding romance between Ferdinand and Miranda is absolutely adorable. When Miranda tells Ferdinand that her father is “hard at study,” we see Prospero standing in the near darkness off stage left. Miranda pouts a bit when Ferdinand mentions other women he has known, which is cute. When the others are searching for Ferdinand, Antonia and Sebastiane call out his name with an obvious lack of interest in finding him, which is funny. For the pageant scene, Prospero hits his stick against the floor, causing lights in the trees to illuminate. He also uses a soap bubble machine, which gets a laugh from the audience. David Melville always handles comedy well, but his greatest moments as Prospero are the more serious and even introspective moments. He does an excellent job with the famous speech after the pageant, in which he tells Miranda and Ferdinand “we are such stuff/As dreams are made on, and our little life/Is rounded with a sleep.” And the later interactions with Ariel are perhaps the best moments in the entire production. Particularly moving is when Ariel tells him, “Mine would, sir, were I human.” Ariel is completely honest here, without that sense of manipulation, and that honesty is what works on Prospero, and it is then we get the first real sense of forgiveness. After Ariel exits, Prospero remains quiet for a moment, gathering himself, which is excellent. There is some sorrow in his delivery of “I’ll drown my book.”
As always, this company makes great use of the space. And having a different space this year seems to have lent itself to fueling their creativity and inventiveness. The dry riverbed is used often, with Prospero first going to it to fill a kettle. And Caliban makes a fantastic and dramatic entrance from underground. What the actors don’t do as much as usual is make entrances and exits through the audience. In previous seasons, actors would even sit with audience members on their blankets, delivering some of their lines from there. But obviously because of the pandemic, that is something that wouldn’t be as welcome. In fact, I believe there is only one exit through the audience, which draws all the more attention to it. That is by Ariel after he is finally freed, making that moment even more powerful and moving.
This production of The Tempest was directed by Melissa Chalsma, and runs through September 5th (only four more performances). There is a twenty-minute intermission, coming at the end of Act II. (Be sure to have a flashlight with you if you plan on visiting the bathrooms during intermission.) Visit the Independent Shakespeare Company’s official website for more information.
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| Caliban makes his entrance from here |
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