'Magical' The Tempest by Braham Murray (SRT) 26th May 2015 @ Fort Canning Park
The Tempest was an interesting play considering how it was my first time reading and viewing the play. The plot revolves around Prospero, a magician and father, and his quest for justice and vengeance against the people who betrayed him when he was the rightful duke of Milan. With the help of his spiritual servant, Ariel, Prospero manages to make all sort of mystical and magical things happen on the island which is the where the story takes place. Throughout the story Prospero is the vengeful spirit and a doting father at the same time, wanting to teach the traitors a lesson and at the same time matchmaking his daughter with Ferdinand.
The theatrics were generally well done, especially the start where they were portraying the tempest with a huge blue sheet dropped form the top of the stage, definitely eye-catching and astounding.
Most of the time whenever Ariel came out and had a scene, she would be singing in a upbeat manner, this emphasises the fun-loving and blithe personality that Ariel has which I find very endearing.
The design of the stage was appropriate in the sense that it suits the theme of Magic in the play. The play was designed to look like a spellbook, with intricate looking patterns flashed on the backdrop whenever possible adding to the whole mystical feel of the play.
One of the main themes in the play is playing God. How and why everything happens in the play is because Prospero makes it happen with his magic – from the onset of the tempest to the end where he basically causes his traitors to repent. The only actual prop on the set was just a pile of books – which belong to Prospero, plus the fact that the set was designed like a spellbook it emphasises the effect that the whole play is just a product of his doing, as if it is his own story that he is crafting. Instances when Prospero peers out a small window on the backdrop of the set reinforce that idea as well.
As a Tempest play virgin, I didn’t really find anything ineffective or not good aside from the fact that I couldn’t catch some parts as I didn’t really have prior reading experience of the play. Definitely would catch more plays by the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Shakespeare In The Park though!