Wednesday 8 April 2009

A South African Tempest

Anthony Sher's Prospero has competition in dominating a cracking version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, jointly produced by the RSC and Cape Town's Baxter Theatre, which we saw last night in Bath. The African music, wonderful puppetry and spirited cast all add to the atmosphere in a lively production, which is currently on a short national tour. Sher is magnificent - of course - but there are also particularly good performances from Atandwa Kani as Ariel, John Kani as Caliban (pictured) and Tinarie Van Wyk Loots as Miranda. The production is a great example of how to fuse cultural traditions with Shakespeare in a way that greatly enhances one's enjoyment and feel for the play. It is well worth seeing.

No comments: