The Tempest bombs
“I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I’ll drown my book.”
Prospero to his servant Ariel
Is it an indictment that there are so few parts in Shakespeare’s plays for older women? There are the witches in Macbeth, the older queens in the history plays and Coriolanus’ mother Volumnia. So, if you have to cast a very well known actress in a Shakespearean Season, you are a bit stuck. Even a very experienced Shakespearean actress, Dame Judi Dench, when cast in 2015, by Kenneth Branagh in The Winter’s Tale was only given the smaller roles of Paulina and the Chorus.
So you come to the part of Prospero in The Tempest. This isn’t the perfect play. The play is dependent on the central figure, this deposed Duke of Milan who is meant to have magical powers, which didn’t help him when he lost his dukedom. The Tempest is the fifth shortest of Shakespeare’s plays but the part of Prospero at 547 lines is the longest of any role in the Shakespearean comedies. It is the leading role of this play which is more important than any of the other parts.
It is thrilling to see an actress of Sigourney Weaver’s status grace the West End stage for the first time in her 76th year but this part is as alien for her as Soutra Gilmour’s Space Age set. Casting an actor who hasn’t played Shakespeare since the 1980s has turned out to be mistake of tragic proportions.
Jamie Lloyd’s recent productions of plays are not as exciting as he might think. The dark Romeo and Juliet with Tom Holland would have bombed without the star quality of a Hollywood A lister from the Spiderman franchise. The Seagull was stripped back to radio play dimensions and only Cyrano de Bergerac lived up to expectations.
In this production the stage is used to create a grey sanded island with dunes, slopes, and plain backdrops. The set has the flexibility for different scenes without the need for extra props. Ariel (Mason Alexander Park) a spirit, is lowered down from above to assist Prospero with his magic.
Apart from her well known film achievements, Sigourney Weaver does have some history of stage work in America, however most of these are contemporary plays and this perhaps is the problem with her performance. Shakespeare’s verse is often difficult to enunciate correctly and in this she clearly has difficulties. She is required to be on stage for the entire performance mostly sitting on a stool at the rear.
There are lighter moments such as from the three servants Stephano, Alonso’s drunken butler (Jason Barnett), Caliban (Forbes Masson) dressed as part baby and part SM, and Trinculo the King’s Jester (Mathew Horne) becoming drunk and falling over but this was too laboured.
Prospero now lives with his daughter Miranda (an interesting Mara Huf), and his two servants, Caliban, and Ariel on this otherwise deserted island. A new storm created by Prospero, with the help of Ariel brings Antonio (Tim Steed) the present Duke and his son Ferdinand (James Phoon) together with Alonso, the King (Jude Akuwudike) to the island but they are separated and unaware as to who has survived. Serena Cadell is excellent as Gonzalo, the loyal courtier to Prospero.
Ferdinand and Miranda soon become infatuated with one another and wish to marry. These actors fit in well to their parts as written but the standout was Mason Alexander Park as Ariel who stylishly flies in and whose singing voice is haunting.
Ben and Max Ringham’s music is always in the background creating atmosphere, quite harsh in places along with Jon Clarke’s darkish but significant lighting. This is not a good production for anyone unfamiliar with the play and in view of Sigourney Weaver’s celebrity status, desperately disappointing.
Production Notes
The Tempest
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Jamie Lloyd
Cast
Starring:
Mathew Horne
Jude Akuwudike
Selina Cadell
Forbes Masson
James Phoon
Jason Barnett
Oliver Ryan
Tim Steed
Phillip Olagoke
Mara Huf
Sigourney Weaver
Mason Alexander Park
Creatives
Director: Jamie Lloyd
Movement: Fabian Aloise
Designer: Soutra Gilmour
Lighting Designer: Jon Clarke
Composers: Ben Ringham, Max Ringham,
Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Sound Designer: Ben and Max Ringham
Fight Director: Kate Waters
Musical Director: Giles Deacon
Information
Running Time: Two hours 10 minutes with an interval
Booking until 1st February 2025
Theatre:
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Catherine Street
London WC2B 5JF
Box Office: 020 7557 7300
Website: https://thejamielloydcompany.com/
Tube: Covent Garden
Reviewed by Malcolm Beckett
at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
on 20th December 2025