Sigourney Weaver makes her West End debut in an underwhelming take on The Tempest at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
“O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer”
As Shakespeare returns to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for the first time in more than 50 years, there’s a certain logic to it being The Tempest that opens The Jamie Lloyd Company’s season of Shakespeare there, it also being the play that ran there in 1957. And securing no less than Sigourney Weaver to play the leading role of Prospero in her West End debut has added to the cachet.
But much as with his interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, there’s the sense of mismatch with director and material as Jamie Lloyd brings little to Shakespeare aside his undoubted stylistic approach. Soutra Gilmour’s set is almost apocalyptic in its blasted rawness but Lloyd brings no context to what he’s attempting here, no clue as to why this play now (for him at least, if not for the legacy).
It really doesn’t help that Weaver never really feels comfortable at the head of this production. A constant stage presence but too often lacking real presence, indistinct line readings lead to a barely-there characterisation – whether personal or directorial choice, it is such a disappointment. Combined with painfully broad comedy strokes led by Mat Horne’s Trinculo which feel like a distinct over-compensation, much of this Tempest is a challenge.
There are some high points. Mason Alexander Park’s musically-inclined Ariel is a treat and the scope of Jon Clark’s lighting design adds much atmosphere to this vast stage. But at the same time, Forbes Masson’s Caliban feels misjudged in his ‘fit and the trimmed-down running time leaves much of the plot unexplained and the comedy elements over-emphasised. A touch too much indulgence I fear.
