Public Play House discussion

I saw the RSC's production of the Tempest on Sunday, at the Globe Theatre. I was a but dubious at the start, as Colin Morgan (Merlin) was unable to play Ariel due to sickness. We were told at the start of the play that they couldn't afford understudies. It started off fantastically, with the storm done via a combination of physical theatre on stage and sound effects being made behind the seats, followed up by Prospero's explanation of why he has caused the tempest.

Then Ariel came on. With a script. I actually felt quite sorry for him.

However, Prospero and the rest of the cast more than made up for it. Joshua James was especially good as Ferdinand, bringing some humour and depth to a character who doesn't have much presence in terms of lines.

There was some fun ad-libbing, including Prospero pretending to read from Ariel's script and Caliban pretending a passing helicopter was a dragon-fly.

All in all, it was a very entertaining production. I can't help but wonder how much better it would have been if Colin Morgan hadn't been sick!

What plays has everyone else seen recently?

Clare
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Clare wrote: "I saw the RSC's production of the Tempest on Sunday, at the Globe Theatre. I was a but dubious at the start, as Colin Morgan (Merlin) was unable to play Ariel due to sickness. We were told at the s..."

Thank you Clare. This is a beautiful review as well as one of my favorite plays.

Never even seen it