The art of the theater is a unique kind of art that has not lost its popularity for many centuries. Among the well-known playwrights whose plays are considered to be the most celebrated, the English genius William Shakespeare occupies one of the leading positions. His works have not lost their popularity up to this day. They are always adapted to modern society while maintaining a common idea. However, only classical interpretations can convey the mood of the era of Shakespeare’s life, and one of such performances is the staging of the world-famous play “The Tempest” by Savage Rose Theater Company.
General Details of the Staging
For the audience to feel the spirit of the period in which Shakespeare lived, Moore (2014), who was the director of this version of the staging, did everything possible to concentrate his attention on acting as much as possible. After all, “The Tempest” does not just reflect some problem or an unusual situation. Reynolds (2016) calls the play “a magnetic socio-political conductor,” and the director faced a rather arduous task of realizing the idea so that it might convey an entire Shakespearean coloring. (p. 190). Therefore, the accent in “The Tempest” by Savage Rose Theater Company is done primarily on a detailed depiction of the characters.
When it comes to visual effects, there is no play of light and shadow in the staging of the play, and the director does not resort to a complicated sound accompaniment. However, the costumes of the characters are carefully thought out, and the images in the play look quite harmonious and reliable. The general mood of “The Tempest” is not tense; viewers can observe the gradual development of the plot, which is more based on the dialogues of the actors than on the abrupt change of plans. The script almost completely coincides with the original version of the play, which emphasizes a traditional approach to staging.
Detailed Features of the Performance
Thanks to carefully designed characters on the stage, a unique action is created, and the audience is completely immersed in the atmosphere of the play. A small stage allows examining all the participants of the performance in detail and finding those features that were inherent in the Shakespearean images. The communication among the characters makes it possible to understand all the scenes easily, which is observed at the beginning of the play and in the culmination. Richards (2017) notes that the staging of “The Tempest,” where there are no effects or technologies, is the most successful decision that shows what it means to be a human. Perhaps, it is what the director wanted to convey to the audience when he was working on the play.
The staging of this play by a modern theater, as well as the fact that it has long been popular among the public confirm that Shakespeare’s works and, in general, the whole direction of drama have not lost its relevance by this day. Modern culture, perhaps, is distinguished by the development of all the spheres of art, but the role of theater in cultural life is rather difficult to overestimate. The performance by Savage Rose Theater Company proves once again that viewers’ interest in this art form is still not lost, and serves as a weighty argument for the assertion that life without the theater would be less bright.
Therefore, such a classical interpretation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” helps to convey the way of life of that era and draws people’s attention to the works of this playwright. Probably, the theater of that time differs from the modern; however, as it becomes clear, to convey the right mood, there is no need to arrange a big show. The fact that people watch the play written several centuries ago with interest-only confirms the power of art.
References
Moore, K. (2014). The Tempest – full play. Web.
Reynolds, B. (2016). Performing transversally: Reimagining Shakespeare and the critical future. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Richards, J. (2017). The Tempest [Review of the play The Tempest, by W. Shakespeare]. Shakespeare Bulletin, 35(2), 342-345.