I saw Sonnet Repertory Theatre, Inc.’s excellent production of Shakespeare’sThe Tempest last night at the 45th Street Theatre.
They made interesting use of video, projecting water effects superimposed over the eyes of the key players at the beginning, almost as if we were Prospero looking into the waters and divining future events to come. A similar effect worked later when Ariel confronted Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian in the form of a harpy, and when Iris, Ceres, and Juno were summoned to entertain the newly wedded Miranda and Ferdinand. As the actors spoke their parts, their ethereal heads were projected on the screen with their mouths moving deliberately out of sync with the words uttered. The delay between the visual and aural experience heightened the sense of otherworldly power.
The actors double and sometimes triple up their roles, so you get interesting pairings and foils like Caliban and Ferdinand, totally opposite (one handsome and fair spoken, the other misshapen and crude) but both bound to serve Prospero. In fact in one scene Caliban casts down his wood cord and renounces Prospero’s mastery over him to follow Stephano and his liquor, only to have the same actor play Ferdinand in the next scene, picking up the cast down wood as a chore for Prospero as he strives to prove his love for Miranda. Miranda and Gonzalo are also paired, which makes sense: one the faithful daughter, the other the honest old counselor who remain true to Prospero.
One last observation: for those of you who watch LOST, there are nice echoes of survivors stranded on a mysterious island. Perhaps the writers of LOST would do good to consult their Shakespeare.