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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Ralph Fiennes in The Tempest

Press photo


Dear fab friends,

So the lovely Ms. Hollie Go-Lightly and I went to see Ralph Fiennes in "The Tempest." We were curious how Ralph, having displayed great aplomb at waving a wand as Lord Voldemort, would do as the sorcerer Prospero on stage.

Was he really a magician, btw? Shakespeare's Prospero was an embittered noble, conjurer of spirits, and master manipulator of the elements. Fiennes' Prospero, in full camp mode, voice booming and armed with a wooden staff, was more like Moses high on weed. At some point when the effeminate spirit Ariel divides into three--I wondered if director Trevor Nunn got his cannabis from the coffee shops in Amsterdam.

We were quite impressed with the visual effects and the acrobatic performances were worthy of a Vegas spectacle. At least they kept dear Hollie from snoring this time around. (My dear friend Ms. Patty reminded me of that unfortunate evening three years ago when Hollie slept through almost the entirety of Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage" also starring Ralph Fiennes.)

That Ralph Fiennes is a seasoned stage actor well versed in Shakespeare is evident. However, Hollie moaned that his phrasing and volume, at times, made him sound like one of the priests from Hollie's childhood up on the pulpit preaching about the dangers of eating less than an hour before taking communion. Among the supporting cast, Nicholas Lyndhurst as the jester Trinculo is worthy of note. As the play is still in previews, we do hope that the other cast members improve further as they settle into their respective roles.

So is this tempest in a teapot worth watching? Let's just say we're glad we've seen Ralph Fiennes and Trevor Nunn's take on one of Shakespeare's last plays. If you fancy the idea of a trippy Ten Commandments cum Cirque du Soleil, then by all means go and see this show!


Yours,

La Dolce Vita

Link to the Royal Theatre Haymarket website

4 comments:

  1. What is it about Ralph Fiennes? On celluloid, he is a most reliable actor. He always delivers. On stage, he is blah. Though I must admit, he had a brilliant turn in the final act of The Tempest. He really came to his own then and showed me why he is the respected thespian that he is.

    Btw, I wouldn't call his performance camp. I know camp. Camp is me. It ain't Ralph. :-)

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  2. So... Ralph Fiennes will be the villain in the next Bond movie, to be directed by Sam Mendes. Reactions?

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  3. Am actually more thrilled that Sam Mendes will be directing over Ralph Fiennes as the villain...

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  4. Sam Mendes directing a Bond film.... hmmm. Interesting. He's not exactly known for action films, is he. In fact, this is probably his first.

    Ralph, as I said is always reliable. And he did evil well as Voldemort so I'm sure he'll deliver! Looking forward.

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