THE TEMPEST RSC at Roundhouse

Shakespeare’s most over-rated play gets off to a bad start in David Farr’s production with a most unexciting storm which takes place in a small enclosed glass booth. The island, a dark, barren, rocky place, has no enchantment whatsoever and the Inigo Jones masque element does not develop beyond having the goddesses fly. Prospero (Jonathan Slinger) is no god-like figure; he’s just a man in a suit. Caliban is no monster, just a burly human. The villain Sebastian has been turned into a woman in high heels, which is not a good idea. The most interesting conceit is Ariel, who is no longer a dainty, delicate sprite, but Prospero’s doppelganger.