Review: THE TEMPEST is a hit at Maynardville Open-Air Festival

It shouldn't be a secret by now that I'm a big Shakespeare fan and I absolutely love the fact that the tradition of Shakespeare at Maynardville is not only still alive, but it's thriving thanks to the creative and wonderful minds of VR Theatrical. This year's offering is THE TEMPEST and I absolutely loved it.

THE TEMPEST is a story about anger from betrayal and the desire for revenge - and then how these emotions can turn to thoughts of reconciliation and forgiveness. The plot follows Prospero (who is Prospera in this version), the rightful duke of Milan, who has ended up stranded on an island that is full of magic. Prospera and her daughter, Miranda, live amongst the sprites and magical creatures on the island in peace, until the king of Naples, Alonso, and Antonio (Prospera's brother who overthrew her) sail past. Prospera conjures a storm that leaves all those on the ship stranded on the island. Now is the time when Prospera will get her revenge...

I really loved the decision by director Sylvaine Strike to change the lead role to a woman. This is actually something I'm quite passionate about - playing with gender roles in older plays where the majority of the characters are male and seeing how it impacts the story. In THE TEMPEST, making this character female opens up a whole new world of development and interest. We all know the saying "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" (not actually a quote from Shakespeare despite him regularly being credited with it) - and the saying couldn't be more apt in this situation. Prospera is determined to have her revenge and actress Antoinette Kellerman is fierce and almost gleeful when talking about how she will get it.

What also changes, though, is the relationship between Prospera and her daughter Miranda, played by Jane de Wet. This becomes more tender and through this, you can see how Prospera turns to reconciliation and forgiveness at the end. Seeing this production, it almost seems natural for the lead to be a woman rather than a man. Anyway, I could go on and on about gender roles and turning them around in traditional plays...

I also want to talk about the stunning sound design and music, done by David Classen and Wessel Odendaal respectively. The soundscape of THE TEMPEST became a character all on its own. It was always there, almost as if it was influencing the characters on stage - sometimes subtly and sometimes completely in your face - and I absolutely loved it. You could see at every point how Strike's strong physical theatre background meshed so well with the soundscape and created something that was magical on stage.

Special performance mentions must go to Tankiso Mamabolo and David Viviers for their dual roles. They played the traitorous Sebastian and Antonio, who were ready to overthrow the king of Naples. Then, they switched it up to be the comic pair of Trinculo and Stephano who wanted nothing more to drink and be merry - and maybe rule over this strange island they found themselves on. Their comic timing together is wonderful.

Another mention must go to Albert Pretorius as the other-wordly creature Caliban, the only native to the island that you meet in the story. This creature is meant to be ugly both on the inside and the outside - which was portrayed wonderfully through Pretorius' physicality and pig-like noises he made in and around his speech. Niall Griffin's costume design also played a lovely part here in making the character seem strange and unnatural. What I loved here was that, despite playing an ugly often wicked character, Pretorius also brought a warmth to Caliban, making you feel for him in his enslavement.

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