Throughout my time at Samford, I have never been disappointed by a performance from our theatre department. The Tempest maintains this hot streak for Samford theatre, reeling in audiences with deep, nuanced themes, beautiful production design and performances deserving of standing ovations.
To briefly summarize the plot for those unfamiliar, The Tempest, one of Shakespeare’s final plays, sees Prospero using his magic to shipwreck a boat and torment the survivors. On the boat is, among others, Prospero’s brother Antonio, who took Prospero’s rightful place as the Duke of Milan. Throughout the play, Prospero dodges many attempts from his enemies to usurp his rule over the island, and he continues to wreak havoc among his foes by controlling the island’s spirits. Prospero also parents his lone child, Miranda and oversees her courting the Prince of Naples, Ferdinand.
There is a little bit of everything in this play. Following a lot of Shakespeare’s trends, there is conflict, action, romance, betrayal and whimsy. It would be hard to find someone who could watch The Tempest without being compelled by at least one of its plot-lines. Specifically referring to Samford theatre’s performance, this performance simultaneously captured the beauty and whimsy of Shakespeare’s work so well.
The performances by the actors certainly sold the experience. In particular, Lucy Blaylock delivered a show-stopping Prospero, capturing the complex character’s depth, whimsy, love for his daughter and desire to be rightfully vindicated. Her final monologue had the entire audience on their feet. Prospero is a fascinating character not only to be analyzed within his context of this play but also as a sort of self-insert for Shakespeare to reflect on his own career.
The set in Harrison theatre was amazingly put together. The tiered stage allowed for much more dynamic scenes and allowed the characters unique ways to interact with one another. The set felt like I was on a boardwalk in the Caribbean on a cloudy day, doing well to establish the show’s iconic island setting. I particularly loved the creative exits onstage, with a staircase and opening trapdoor allowing the cast to enter and exit scenes all over the stage.
The costuming also merits praise, as each character is so distinguishable in their noble medieval garb, many characters even dressed in swashbuckling gear to establish the seaside setting. Likewise, the music incorporated sparingly throughout the production continued to entertain and entrench me more in the mystical setting.
All in all, Samford theatre’s performance of The Tempest is all I could have asked for. The show impresses on all fronts and has me excited for the future of the program.
Staff Writer
