The Tempest – review

King's, Edinburgh

It's a pity the word "hybrid" has acquired pejorative overtones, because that's exactly what this delightful production offers. Adapted and directed by Tae-Suk for Seoul's Mokwha Repertory Company and presented as part of the international festival's Asian programme, it mixes Shakespeare's narrative with elements of fifth-century Korean history and traditional dance-drama, and proves yet again the benefits of cultural cross-fertilisation.

What instantly strikes one is the lightness and wit with which Oh Tae-Suk handles the familiar story. The Prospero-like King Zilzi, immersed in Taoist magic and exiled by a rival monarch, arranges the initial shipwreck partly out of revenge and partly because he believes it's high time his 15-year-old daughter "met somebody". And when the Miranda equivalent is asked by her kingly suitor if she is pure and true, she replies with heavy irony "this is a desert island". But the wit extends to the visual ideas. Caliban becomes a two-headed creature equipped with a kangaroo-like pouch containing his own captious elder brother. Ariel is turned into a busy shaman priestess who seems as much the instigator as the executrix of Zilzi's magic. And the island is heavily populated with animals who are finally transformed, at their own request, into north-flying ducks.

Yet, for all the humour of the treatment, this is no mere island fling but a production that gets across Shakespeare's essential points. Indeed the protagonist, in finally conceding "I am the guilty party", is far more self-accusatory than any conventional Prospero. The yearning for liberation is also vividly expressed both by Ariel's impatience and by the sudden severing of Caliban's two bodies. And when Zilzi finally passes his magic fan on to a spectator in the front row, a bond is struck between actors and audience that deliberately echoes Peter Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In fact the whole production, with its Brookish bamboo canes, Shakespearean plot and Korean music and dance, is an eloquent testament to the fusion of the best of east and west.

Contributor

Michael Billington

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
The Tempest – review
Unconventional casting turns this production of The Tempest into a metaphor for relations between men and women everywhere, writes Mark Fisher

Mark Fisher

12, Jun, 2012 @5:28 PM

Article image
The Tempest – review

Cheek by Jowl's Russian ensemble shed new light on this familiar play in a witty, water-filled production, writes Michael Billington

Michael Billington

10, Apr, 2011 @8:31 PM

Article image
The Tempest – review
The storm is evoked superbly and music suffuses the church in this sometimes puzzling Jericho House production, writes Michael Billington

Michael Billington

25, Sep, 2011 @4:49 PM

Article image
The Tempest – review

Tim Pigott-Smith's Prospero holds this Tempest together, but why is Ariel on stilts, asks Lyn Gardner

Lyn Gardner

30, Aug, 2012 @11:05 AM

Article image
The Tempest – review
Caliban looks like he could use a cuddle in this cleverly streamlined, kid-friendly production, writes Lyn Gardner

Lyn Gardner

18, Mar, 2011 @10:00 PM

Article image
The Tempest – review
Roger Allam exercises finger-tip control over the audience in a riveting performance, writes Michael Billington

Michael Billington

03, May, 2013 @4:48 PM

The Tempest | Theatre review

Observatory Gardens, Greenwich
This production of The Tempest is a cut above most summer chardonnay-and-Shakespeare picnic experiences, and has its own rough magic, writes Lyn Gardner

Lyn Gardner

05, Jul, 2010 @9:01 PM

Article image
The Tempest | Theatre review

Tobacco Factory, Bristol
This interpretation doesn't have the clarity and vividness of many previous productions – as if the energy is being expended elsewhere, writes Lyn Gardner

Lyn Gardner

01, Apr, 2010 @8:35 PM

Article image
The Tempest review – groundbreaking Shakespeare for autistic audiences
Flute Theatre’s innovative production gives children the chance to play out the scenes initiated by the actors

Lyn Gardner

31, Oct, 2016 @1:54 PM

Article image
The Tempest review – laundry-room Shakespeare spins enchantment
Miranda wears men’s cast-offs and Prospero becomes a make-do-and-mend magician in this loose-fitting take

Alfred Hickling

30, Sep, 2015 @12:16 PM