There’s so much to enjoy in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s version of Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, choreographed by their Artistic Director, David Bintley, with a new score by Sally Beamish.Prospero is also a magician and conjures up a storm ensuring that his enemies are also washed up on the island, including his nephew who falls in love with Miranda and two stewards who encounter Prospero’s slaves, the sprite Aerial and the monster, Caliban. Harmony is restored and slaves released as immortals bless the couple’s wedding.
This is all played out on a simple but very lovely set by Rae Smith which begins by suggesting an enormous eye is looking at us (Caliban’s? Prospero's?) And then vast pieces of canvas drape and corrugate to suggest waves, sails and sandbanks, leaving plenty of room for the choreography.
I don’t envy Bintley, the pressure not to mess up a new ballet must be immense. They are so expensive and time consuming to mount with no guarantee they’ll find favour with an audience that he will have needed to tread very carefully to create something that won’t bomb at the box office and waste all that effort and money.
As a result this is not an evening of shocks and revelations, everything is played safe so as not to alienate critics or prospective audiences but this doesn't mean it’s bland. As each incident from the original play is expressed through narrative dance it becomes a new way to appreciate much loved characters and situations.
With its shimmering music and lighting it feels rather like coming across unexpectedly beautiful things in a series of warm, glittering rock pools. This isn’t an experience that’s going to be indelibly etched on your memory but it is extremely enjoyable.
Iain Mackay is powerful, handsome and imposing as Prospero and his solo moments brought three dimensions to his agony as an exile and a parent losing control; I particularly enjoyed the flash backs of his downfall.
Jenna Roberts really captured the innocence and life force of his inquisitive young daughter. It was quite easy to see why she fell for Joseph Caley as an optimistic Ferdinand full of amazement at the islands wonders and their blossoming romance.
The magician’s slaves are beautifully differentiated in costume, choreography and performance. Tyrone Singleton makes Caliban a wretched, down trodden creature, emerging from a sea shell to stalk the beach, fearing and fascinated by the newcomers, whilst Aerial is a cheeky, ethereal, flying messenger who seems as light as air.
This is a fun if unchallenging night for dancers, critics and ballet fans alike.
Back in 1983 I had the extraordinary privilege of witnessing Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay deliver two of the most theatrically ebullient performances about the grandeur and grimness of a life in luvvydom, ever committed to celluloid. This was Peter Yates film version of The Dresser which relied upon Ronald Harwood’s exceptional scripting of his original play to generate considerable critical success, including 5 Academy Award nominations.