Why Does Edmonton Continue to Honour a Slave Owner? August 21, 2022.Hugh MacLennan, Foundation, and To-day August 21, 2022.On Translation, and Homer’s Blue Frieze September 30, 2022.To Fathom a Sparrow: a little bit of the joy of Etymology October 8, 2022.Please, hurry out to Julius Caesar or The Tempest, or both, at the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park. There’s only about a week left in the festival. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the Freewill Tempest. I can’t help but think that Borotsik has in some sense made Ariel the centre of the play, more than Ferdinand and Miranda (although Simpson and Thomas-Haug take a good shot at that bull’s-eye) and certainly more than Wright’s exquisite Prospero. Ariel is clearly attentive to everything around her, taking everything in, drawing everything in. I found my gaze drawn back to Borotsik in many scenes where she sat silent in the background: her eyes - no doubt aided by the makeup - continuously flashed around at the others on the stage. She flits about the stage, appearing and disappearing, singing and dancing, and then terrifyingly transforming into a Fury, wings flapping above the trembling Alonso (Chris Bullough) and his courtiers.

In her first scene with Prospero, she convinces that she is fawningly in love with the old Magus, but in an instant Borotsik transforms and is at first is enraged that her freedom is not yet, and then a moment later is grovelling, broken at Prospero’s feet. įrom the opening storm scene, in which she bounces about the tempest tossed ship, calling down the lightening, to her final departure when Prospero sets her free, her eyes flash across the stage, watching everything, and her smile shines with glee as she uses her magic. To avoid at least one spoiler, I’ll just say that it’s tremendous!Īnd now, the best, which I’ve saved for last. Something I had wondered while rereading the play earlier today was what director John Kirkpatrick would do with the masque, a sort of theatre very foreign to modern audiences. Nathan Cuckow as Caliban is stinkingly reptilian - is that right hand he waves behind him meant to be a tail? Or is he waving away a constant fart? When joined by Kevin Corey’s Stephano and Troy O’Donnell’s Trinculo, these three are the epitome of the Shakespearean clowns and thankfully manage to completely avoid Disney. Wright’s Prospero is everything it should be: undoubtedly powerful, at times fickle, at others forgetful, in the end generous and forgiving - except toward Caliban, to the discomfort of this and generations of audiences. In the scenes with John Wright’s Prospero, father and daughter play off each other with great - at times painful - realism. And Thomas-Haug, whose performance in Julius Caesar so struck me, doesn’t disappoint, seeming to spend much of the play joyfully building to the most joyous wonder of her “Brave new world” moment. Simpson nails Ferdinand as the gangly wide-eyed teenager suddenly alone in a very strange and magical world. And Narda McCarroll’s costume design ranges from startlingly appropriate (the Court of Naples as a biker gang) to absolutely stunning (Ariel and the sprites).Īgain I have my quibbles: as is Julius Caesar, The Tempest is shortened Ariel as written is male, not Amber Borotsik’s very clear female spirit Miranda’s stern (and empowering) lecture to Caliban in Act I, scene 2 is partly given to Prospero, disappointingly and in Act 4, Scene 1, Ferdinand is given the linesīut these are quibbles, particularly the last: Such a charming Ferdinand as Mat Simpson would definitely list in paradise such a charming Miranda as Cayley Thomas-Haug. The sound design from the opening maritime, vaguely foghornish drone is marvelous. The dual-duty-doing set design by Cory Sincennes is remarkable in it’s beauty, in it’s appropriateness to both plays it serves, in it’s variability, and in its functionality. But there is more magic on Prospero’s Island than just the opening weather tricks. The use of the turntable and the stairs at left and right is tremendous, as is the coordinated Star Trek battle-lean of the cast. I’ve read other reviews which have highly praised the opening scene of the titular Tempest and that praise has been appropriate. How could there be a better evening for an outdoor performance of The Tempest, the Shakespeare play I love the most, and to follow up my enjoyable time at Julius Caesar a while ago? The Freewill Shakespeare Company’s production and performances were wonderful - at times glorious - and the weather was perfect.

As I sit down to write the rain, which began as an epic thunderstorm, has been falling for twenty-four hours.

Ariel in the tempest